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THEMEMOII^S 
D'Aï\TAGNAN  | 


MEMOIRS    OF 
MONSIEUR    D'ARTAGNAN 


MEMOIRS  OF 

MONSIEUR  D'ARTAGNAN 

CAPTAIN-LIEUTENANT  OF  THE  ist  COMPANY 
OF  THE  KING'S  MUSKETEERS 

BY 

COURTILZ  DE  SANDRAZ 

NOW  FOR  THE  FIRST  TIME  TRANSLATED  INTO  ENGLISH 

BY 

RALPH   NEVILL 


PART  IL— THE  LIEUTENANT 


H.    S.    NICHOLS    LTD. 

3   SOHO   SQUARE   AND   62A   PICCADILLY 

LONDON,  W. 


:3)c 

■'■■  ■■  '  /< 

\50 

Ria.t^ 

<?q<^ 

bi.x 

IRINTED    IN    QRKAT    EEITAIN    BY 
OLIVEB   ANP    BOY»,    EDÎNBUBOB 


TRANSLATOR'S    NOTE 


In  accordance  with  many  suggestions,  I  hâve,  in 
the  second  volume  of  thèse  "  Memoirs  "  ventured  to 
compress  certain  portions  of  the  text  which  deal 
with  matters  quite  extraneous  to  the  career  of 
M.  d'Artagnan,  but  the  book  has  not  been  bowd- 
lerised  in  any  way  whatever.  The  reader  will  find 
the  last  section  of  this  volume,  which  describes 
D'Artagnan's  adventures  in  London,  especially  worthy 
of  his  attention.  The  whole  of  it,  however,  is  full 
of  interest,  and  should  it  fail  to  meet  with  the 
flattering  réception  accorded  to  its  predecessor,  the 
fault  will  lie  rather  with  the  translator  than  with 
the  work  itself. 

RALPH    NEVILL. 


MEMOIRS   OF   M.   D^ARTAGNAN, 

"CAPTAIN-LIEUTENANTOF  THE  ist  COMPANY 
OF  THE  KING'S  MUSKETEERS." 


I 

/><l^f^  EACE  having  been  made  in  the  way  I  hâve 
described,  a  number  of  flatterers,  who,  on 
account  of  the  great  deeds  M.  le  Prince 
had  performed  in  the  war,  lauded  everything 
else  he  did  to  the  skies  (as  if  his  good 
points  in  this  respect  could  wipe  out  ail  the 
bad  ones  he  might  possess),  by  so  doing  made 
him  so  vain  that  niany  people  found  difficulty  in  putting 
up  with  him. 

The  Cardinal,  especially,  could  not  reconcile  himself 
to  the  airs  with  which  he  began  to  treat  him.  His 
Eminence,  perceiving  that  he  wanted  to  sell  the  help 
he  had  just  given  him  against  the  Parisians  at  such  a 
price  that  there  would  be  no  further  favours  he  could 
dare  to  refuse  him,  made  complaint  of  this  to  the  Queen, 
who,  for  her  part,  was  not  too  well  pleased  at  a  number 
of  things  which  M.  le  Prince  was  every  day  asking  for 
his  dependents.  M.  le  Prince  had  even  wanted  her 
Majesty  to  give  the  right  of  entry  to  her  councils  to 
the  Prince  de  Conti,  a  proof  that,  when  the  latter  had 
vol..  II  1 


2  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

gone  to  ofîer  his  services  to  the  Parlement,  the  matter 
had  either  been  arranged  between  the  two  brothers,  or, 
at  ail  events,  that  they  had  since  joined  forces  together, 
so  as  to  make  themselves  more  redoubtable.  This 
faveur,  as  well  as  a  number  of  others  v^^hich  he  exacted 
for  the  Duc  de  Longueville,  v^ho  had  married  his 
sister,  very  much  displeased  the  Queen.  It  was  her 
opinion  that  the  revolt,  with  which  the  Prince  de  Conti 
and  M.  le  Prince  had  associated  themselves,  deserved 
nothing  less  than  rewards.  Indeed  this  was  ail  they 
might  hâve  hoped  for,  had  they  shown  their  fidelity 
instead  of  their  rebelliousness.  Anyhow,  as  at  Court 
one  looks  just  as  pleasant  when  one  wants  to  ruin  a 
person,  as  when  one  intends  to  do  him  good,  not  only 
did  the  Cardinal  conceal  his  resentment  under  the 
guise  of  civility  and  confidence,  but  also  under  that 
of  a  cordiality  as  great  as  might  ever  exist  between 
two  friends.  He  invited  M.  le  Prince  to  come  and 
feast  with  him  four  or  five  times  in  less  than  a  month, 
and  as  this  prince  loved  dissipation  and  plunged  freely 
into  it  of  his  own  accord,  when  once  he  was  at  it, 
his  Eminence  pretended  to  drink,  so  as  to  excite  him 
to  do  the  same.  This  minister  knew  that  it  was  on 
occasions  of  this  kind  that  a  man  loses  control  over 
himself,  and  that  thus  he  might  get  his  secret  out  of 
him  without  his  noticing  it.  He  succeeded  none  too 
badly.  M.  le  Prince,  who  suspected  nothing,  having 
partaken  pretty  freely  of  wine,  asked  him  in  the  présence 
of  the  Duc  d'Orléans,  who  was  at  this  banquet,  if 
without  his  assistance  the  Parisians  would  not  hâve 
terrified  him  a  good  deal.  Were  he  to  speak  the  truth, 
he  must  own  to  having  trembled  more  than  once  on 
the  day  of  the  barricades,  or  at  least  to  having  turned 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  3 

pale;  so  much  so,  that  if  one  had  not  known  the  cause, 
one  could  not  hâve  failed  to  think  that  some  accident 
had  happened  to  him  ! 

He  made,  besides,  other  jokes,  stronger  even  than 
this,  which  causing  the  minister  to  fear  that,  if  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  attacked  on  such  doubtful  ground, 
the  prince  would  not  be  long  in  going  even  further, 
he  spoke  of  it  to  the  Queen  as  being  the  only  person 
able  to  devise  a  remedy.  The  Queen  decided  not 
to  neglect  his  advice.  She  observed  with  pain  that 
M.  le  Prince,  far  from  being  satisfied  with  the  faveurs 
which  he  daily  received  from  her  Majesty,  had  again 
started  his  old  claims  as  to  the  Admiralty.  This  he 
haughtily  demanded  again  as  something  belonging  to 
him  by  right,  and,  on  the  Cardinal  answering  that, 
even  were  this  office  his  property,  the  recompenses  he 
had  already  received  should  make  him  abandon  his 
pretensions,  he  dared  to  tell  him  straight  out  that  the 
services  he  had  just  rendered  spoke  so  much  in  his 
favour  that,  if  there  was  one  of  the  two  who  could  be 
called  ungrateful,  such  a  term  was  much  more  applicable 
to  the  one  than  the  other. 

Such  haughty  behaviour  settled  the  matter  of  causing 
his  Eminence  to  nurture  some  extraordinary  schemes 
against  him.  As  he  was  from  a  country  where  there 
is  a  proverb  which  says, 

**  passato  pericolo  il  gabbato  del  santo," 

that  is,  in  good  French,  that  "One  thinks  no  longer 
of  the  saint  to  whom  one  has  vowed  oneself,  the 
minute  there  seems  no  further  use  for  him,"  he  resolved 
on  his  ruin,  desiring  to  lower  him  to  such  a  point  as  to 
make  him  entirely  dépendent  on  his  own  will.     The 

I — 2 


4  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

Queen  who  began  to  place  such  confidence  in  this 
minister  that  she,  so  to  speak,  "savv  only  with  his  eyes," 
soon  shared  his  ideas.  The  ruin  of  M.  le  Prince  was 
sworn  between  the  two,  and  never  had  any  hatred  been 
seen  to  follow  so  quickly  on  trust;  for,  just  as  much  as 
before  both  had  relied  upon  this  prince,  so  did  they  now 
think  it  a  matter  of  their  own  safety  to  place  him 
in  a  condition  in  which  he  could  do  them  no  harm. 
Perhaps  their  resentment  would  only  hâve  fallen  upon 
him,  if  they  had  not  been  afraid  that  his  relatives  and 
friends  would  take  his  part,  when  they  should  perceive 
him  in  misfortune;  but  I  must  not  say  "perhaps"; 
this  would  actually  hâve  happened,  at  least  there  was 
every  appearance  of  it.  Indeed  there  was  no  one  who 
did  not  know  that  the  peace  which  had  been  made 
with  the  Parisians  was  not  so  well  assured  as  not  to  be 
ripe  for  being  broken  at  every  moment  and,  as  it  was 
necessary  to  take  away  from  them  the  leaders  whom 
they  might  hâve  made  use  of  to  recommence  their 
agitation  with,  it  was  not  a  bad  move  for  the  Council 
to  hâve  decreed  the  arrest  of  the  Prince  de  Conti 
and  the  Duc  de  Longueville  at  the  same  time  as  the 
Prince  de  Condé  was  arrested. 

The  governorships  which  both  held,  which  were  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Paris,  further  hastened  their  ruin. 
One  was  Governor  of  Champagne  and  Brie,  and  the 
other  of  the  richest  province  of  the  whole  kingdom, 
I  mean  Normandy,  a  province  which  was  the  more  to 
be  feared  from  being  oppressed  with  a  thousand  taxes, 
and  in  conséquence  there  was  reason  for  fearing  that 
the  inhabitants,  who  loudly  complained  of  the  présent 
government,  would  avail  themselves  of  the  first  oppor- 
tunity  to  show  their  discontent.     Not  that  thèse  two 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  5 

governors  were  personally  much  to  be  dreaded  ;  one 
was  a  man  much  to  be  despised  as  a  mère  individual, 
cxcept  for  his  birth,  and  on  account  of  the  alliance  he 
had  contracted  with  two  princesses  of  the  blood  :  he 
had  no  sensé,  and  although  the  other  did  not  resemble 
him  in  this  respect,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  a  good 
deal,  as  he  had  been  brought  up  for  the  church,  it 
was  only  the  priests  who  were  on  his  side.  Not  one 
person  of  rank  had  thought  of  paying  him  court,  but 
the  Queen  and  her  minister  were  afraid,  and  with  much 
reason,  that  the  friends  and  parasites  of  the  Prince  de 
Condé,  who  were  as  numerous  as  those  of  his  brother 
were  few,  would  soon  rally  to  him,  when  they  should 
perceive  his  fall,  and  further,  that  his  rank  of  prince  of 
the  blood  (which  takes  the  place  of  worth  among 
people  of  quality)  would  produce  its  effect  when  least 
expected.  Accordingly,  they  thought  that,  to  guard 
themselves  against  ail  this,  and  against  a  quantity  of 
other  things,  which  I  suppress,  because  one  can  easily 
picture  them  to  oneself,  it  was  urgent  that  his  ruin 
should  be  sworn  at  the  same  time  as  that  of  his 
brother  and  his  brother-in-law. 

As  it  was  difficult  enough  for  a  matter  of  such  consé- 
quence, and  one  which  required  that  several  people 
should  be  in  the  secret,  to  be  carried  out  with  certainty, 
that  is  to  say,  without  those  against  whom  it  was  aimed 
becoming  aware  of  it,  the  Court  deemed  itself  obliged  to 
win  over  some  members  of  the  Parlement,  so  that  they 
might  restrain  the  people  when  the  blow  fell.  As  a 
rule  this  body  was  ready  enough  to  wish  harm  to  M.  le 
Prince,  because  the  side  he  had  taken  against  it  to 
support  the  wishes  of  the  Cardinal  had  made  him  for- 
fait  the  esteem  and  friendship  which  his  great  deeds 


6  ME  MO  1RS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

might   have   won   for   him.     Nevertheless,   among   its 
members,  as  among  the  great  number   of  people   of 
which   it    was    composed,    there    were    some    greatly 
attached  to  his  person,  and  who  thought  much  less  of 
the  public  weal  than  of  their  own  private   interests. 
The  Président  de  Maisons,  who  was  of  the  number,  no 
sooner  got  wind  of  what  was  going  on  than  he  con- 
fided  it  to  M.  le  Prince.     The  Prince  de  Condé  who, 
besides  not  imagining  that  the  Cardinal  would  sully  him- 
self  with  such  great  ingratitude  to  him,  thought  enough 
of  the   réputation    of  himself  and   of  his    friends   to 
imagine  that  he  would  never  undertake  a  stroke  of  this 
kind  without   thinking   twice   over  it,   made   reply  to 
this  magistrate,  that  he  knew  not  whence  this  warning 
came,  but  he  was  much  deceived  if  it  was  not  abso- 
lutely  false.     Doubtless  it  had  been  given  him  only  to 
cause  him  to  take  some  false  step  from  stupid  credulity: 
but  as,  thanks  to  God,  he  had  sensé  to  discern  truth 
from  falsehood,  he  would  take  good  care  not  to  fall 
into  the  trap  so  clumsily  set  for  him.     He  spoke  just 
what  he  thought,  and  he  would  have  even  entertained 
the  idea  (had  not  this  magistrate  been  strongly  attached 
to  his  interests)  that  he  was  only  speaking  as  he  did  to 
be  the  first  to  hasten  his  fall,  so  firmly  was  he  per- 
suaded  that  it  could  not  be  true,  that  the   Cardinal 
would  dare  to  think  of  such  a  stroke  as  this.     Be  this 
as  it  may,  having  neglected  to  take  the  précautions 
which  this  président  advised,  he  continued  to  go  on  in 
the  same  way  and  was  not  long  before  repenting  of  so 
doing. 

The  King  had  returned  to  Paris,  after  having  granted 
peace  to  the  Parisians,  and  as  it  is  much  more  difficult 
to  hide  one's  faults  from  those  on  the  look-out  for  them, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  7 

vvhen  one  is  near,  than  when  one  is  far  away,  ail  he 
Court  and  ail  Paris  retained  so  little  esteem  for  his 
Eminence  on  account  of  a  hundred  things  he  was 
observed  to  do,  that  it  was  only  his  servants  or  his 
private  parasites  who  kept  quiet  about  it.  Further, 
his  Word  was  worth  as  little  as  if  there  had  been  dis- 
honour  in  keeping  it.  What  he  promised  to-day  he 
forgot  to-morrow  ;  for  some  sordid  pièce  of  self-interest 
he  would  break  with  his  best  friend,  and  he  had  become 
so  used  to  doing  this,  that  it  was  constantly  happening 
to  him.  The  principal  cause  of  the  hatred  M.  le 
Prince  bore  him  was  that,  after  the  reconciliation 
with  the  Parisians  had  been  effected,  he  had  refused 
him  the  governorship  of  Pont  de  l'Arche  for  his  brother- 
in-law.  His  Eminence  had  given  as  a  reason  that  the 
honour  and  interest  of  the  State  required  that  favours 
should  not  be  showered  upon  a  rebel  such  as  he  ;  not 
only  would  it  be  setting  a  bad  example,  but  further,  it 
would  make  an  evil  impression  upon  the  populace. 
Besides,  even  had  the  Duc  de  Longueville  been  a  man 
who  had  remained  faithful,  it  would  not  be  politic  to 
make  him  so  powerful.  Already  he  possessed  the 
greatest  number  of  the  ports  in  Normandy,  and  to 
give  him  this  one  would  be  to  want  to  make  him  a 
sort  of  king  of  the  whole  province.  It  was  there  that 
the  greater  part  of  his  estâtes  lay,  and  as  he  raised 
from  it  a  number  of  gentlemen  and  persons  of  great 
distinction,  it  was  quite  clearthat  one  could  not  further 
increase  his  authority  without  grave  danger.  M.  de 
Matignon,  a  near  relative  of  this  prince,  who  was 
lieutenant-general  of  the  province,  served  as  another 
pretext  for  the  minister  to  support  his  contention  with. 
He  said,  with  référence  to  him,  that  it  was  another 


8  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

cause  of  the  duc's  power  being  increased.  This,  indeed, 
might  hâve  had  some  sensé,  had  the  Comte  de  Matig- 
non been  a  man  like  anyone  else,  but  his  was  such  a 
feeble  intelligence,  that  ail  the  prestige  he  might  obtain 
from  the  support  of  the  prince  and  his  own  rank  was 
destroyed  by  the  little  he  himself  personally  possessed. 
He  never  said  anything  which  was  not  pitiable,  and  it 
was  but  a  short  time  before  that  he  had  maintained 
in  very  good  company,  that  he  had  never  partaken  of 
such  good  olive-oil  as  that  which  is  made  in  Poitou. 
Someone  answered  him  that  none  was  made  there,  and 
that  it  must  hâve  corne  from  Provence  or  Languedoc. 
However,  he  again  repeated  what  he  had  before  said 
and  maintained  that  quite  as  much  was  made  there  as 
in  the  two  provinces  just  mentioned,  and  that  he  him- 
self had  seen  the  walnut-trees  from  which  it  came  ; 
they  yielded,  he  continued,  as  good  oil  as  he  had  ever 
tasted  in  Italy  or  anywhere  else,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  be  said  against  his  statement,  since  he  spoke  not 
from  hearsay,  but  from  the  testimony  of  his  own  eyes. 
Nobody  would  contradict  him  further,  and,  satisfying 
themselves  with  admiring  his  great  cleverness,  they 
agreed  to  what  he  wanted,  that  is  to  say,  that  the 
walnut-trees  of  Poitou  produced  the  best  olive-oil  in 
the  world. 

Yet  this  gentleman  was  from  the  district  known  as 
the  clever  district,  and  where,  indeed,  intellects  are  a 
good  deal  more  subtle  than  in  any  other;  however,  if 
there  are  some  which  deserve  this  reptuation,  there 
are  as  well  others  just  as  dull  as  can  be  found  any- 
where. It  even  seems  at  présent  as  if  whatever  part 
of  the  country  the  Matignons  bail  from  (for  formerîy 
they  lived  in  Brittany,  since  it  is  there  that  the  family 


MEMOIRS    OF   D'ARTAGNAN  g 

arose)  makes  an  effort  to  distinguish  itself  from  other 
parts  by  the  simplicity,  not  to  call  it  the  stupidity, 
which  is  to  be  observed  there.  It  is  of  thèse  people 
that  it  is  commonly  said  that,  when  they  speak  of  their 
seigneur,  they  déclare  he  is  just  as  great  as  the  King, 
or  at  least  very  nearly  so;  and,  indeed,  I  hâve  heard 
a  gentleman  who  was  not  a  man  to  amuse  himself 
with  fairy-tales  sa}'  that,  being  one  day  at  M.  de 
Matignon's,  his  peasants  looked  upon  his  praying  to 
God,  just  as  they  themselves  did,  as  being  something 
worthy  of  admiration.  This  gentleman  repeated  this 
to  the  curé  so  that  he  might  reprove  them,  for  they 
thought  him  just  as  great  as  the  King,  or  very  near: 
they  also  thought  that  he  was  humbling  himself  a  good 
deal  to  do  just  as  they  did,  when  he  bowed  himself 
before  God.  But  this  curé,  either  because  he  shared 
their  obtuseness,  although  that  is  unlikely,  or  because 
he  was  afraid  of  displeasing  his  seigneur  by  disabusing 
thèse  people  of  the  great  estimation  they  had  of  him, 
contented  himself  with  telling  them  that,  if  the  comte 
abased  himself  so  much  as  to  bow  the  knee  to  God,  it 
was  because  he  wished  to  set  them  a  good  example: 
this  was  very  edifying  in  such  a  great  lord  as  he,  and 
they  must  take  good  care  to  imitate  him. 

However,  to  return  to  my  subject.  The  Cardinal, 
who  was  trying  to  render  M.  le  Prince  odious  to  ail 
the  populace,  was  delighted  at  his  asking  him  for  the 
governorship  of  Pont  de  l'Arche  for  his  brother-in- 
law.  For,  as  he  was  afraid  that,  if  he  arrested  him, 
he  would  be  accused  of  ingratitude,  he  looked  upon 
it  as  being  a  thing  very  lucky  for  himself  that  he 
should  thus  give  him  a  reason  for  so  doing,  without 
his  being  obliged  to  resort  to  any  pretext.      He  was 


lo  MEMOIRS    OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

aware  that  the  one  course  must  break  down  sooner  or 
later,  even  should  he  be  clever  enough  to  well  disguise 
it,  whereas  the  other  would  impress  itself  the  more 
on  his  mind  as  he  would   hâve  reason  on    his   side. 
Such  a  stroke  as  this  could  not  be  the  work  of  one 
day  ;    for  although  it  was  but  a  question  of  demanding 
his  sword,  not  a  very  diffîcult  thing,  since  he  came 
to  the   King's  every  day,  as   he  must    not   be   taken 
alone  because  of  what  might  resuit,  it  was  not  only 
necessary   to   try   and   collect  ail   the  three  together, 
but  to  further  prépare  people's  minds  to  receive  such 
a  great  event  without  taking  any  part  in  it.     M.  le 
Prince  had  himself  already  prepared  them,  when  he 
had  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Cardinal  against  the 
people,     His  troops  also  had  admirably  seconded  him 
in   this   by    pillaging  and    ravaging   the   country-side 
as  they   had   done.      Meanwhile,   as,   in    spite   of  the 
warning  of  the  Président  de  Maisons,  this  prince  as  yet 
suspected  nothing,  instead  of  changing  his  behaviour, 
which  might  hâve  destroyed  the  suspicions  entertained 
as  to  his  fidelity,  he  began  to  plot  in  the  province  of 
Guyenne  to  get  himself  given  the  governorship.     He 
would  much   bave   liked   to   exchange   it   for   that   of 
Burgundy  which  he  held;    for,  beside  its  being  much 
more  important  both  in  revenue  and  in  a  thousand 
other   things   unnecessary   to    specify    (since  they  are 
self-evident)    it   was    besides    a    very    convenient    one 
for  him.     Indeed,  he  already  had  another  the  other 
side  of  the  Loire — that  of  Berri.     But  now,  although 
one   must    not    be    sure    that    he    as    yet   entertained 
those  great  plans  which  he  has  since  developed,  as  it 
is  a  natural  thing  for  everyone  to  wish  to  get  on,  he 
made  use  of  an  opportunity  which  seemed  to  him  a 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  ii 

favourable  one  to  obtain  both  thèse  governorships  for 
himself. 

The  Duc  d'Espernon,  who  had  inherited  from  his 
father  the  characteristic  of  being  very  proud,  ill-used 
the  Bordelais,  vvhose  governor  he  was,  a  good  deal. 
He  had  a  perfect  understanding  with  the  Cardinal, 
who  had  an  idea  of  marrying  one  of  his  nièces  to  the 
Duc  de  Candale,  his  only  son  ;  for  this  reason,  the 
governor  in  question  lent  his  aid  as  much  as  he 
could  in  the  territory  he  governed,  to  help  raise  new 
taxes,  with  which  his  Eminence  every  day  loaded  the 
people  more  and  more.  Bordeaux,  which  is  the  capital 
of  this  province,  and  which  took  a  great  lead  in  it  as 
capitals  usually  do  with  regard  to  everything,  did  not 
dare  express  ail  it  thought.  Château  Trompette,  which 
is  as  it  were  the  citadel  of  that  town,  stopped  this  ;  but 
eventually,  the  natural  disposition  of  the  people  to 
revolts  being  augmented  by  the  sternness  of  their 
governor  and  the  exactions  of  the  tax-collectors,  they 
ail  of  a  sudden  rose  against  him.  The  Marquis  de 
Sauveboeuf,  a  gentleman  of  the  vicinity,  who  had  a 
private  cause  for  complaint  against  the  Duc  d'Espernon, 
as  well  as  against  the  Court,  by  which  he  had  been  a 
good  deal  ill-used,  placed  himself  at  their  head.  They 
armed  some  vessels  so  as  to  become  masters  of  the 
Garonne,  and  the  revolt  having  every  moment  gathered 
strength  from  the  hatred  they  bore  their  governor, 
they  laid  siège  to  Château  Trompette. 

At  that  time  I  was  already  a  lieutenant  in  the  Guards, 
a  circumstance  which  entailed  my  mounting  guard, 
which  was  a  more  important  thing  than  it  is  to-day, 
the  reason  being  that,  thanks  to  God,  everything  is 
now,  as  it  should  be,  in  a  state  of  submission  to  its 


12  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

King,  instead  of  which,  at  that  time,  his  person  was 
not  in  great  safety  on  account  of  the  little  respect  left 
in  the  minds  of  many  people.  Consequently,  every- 
thing  depended  on  the  vigilance  and  fîdelity  of  those 
who  were  guarding  him,  and  ail  the  posts  which  had 
anything  to  do  with  this  were  valued  in  the  highest 
degree  possible,  Wherefore  M.  le  Cardinal  was  very 
friendly  towards  us,  while  we  were  thus  employed,  so 
that,  should  anyone  make  any  attempt  to  bribe  us,  we 
might  not  fail  to  let  him  know.  .Meanwhile,  as  I 
seemed  to  him  to  be  even  more  wanted  in  that  part  of 
the  country  than  at  Paris,  he  sent  me  post-haste  to 
Broiiage  to  find  the  Comte  d'Augnon,  who  was  governor 
there.  I  gave  him  orders  from  the  King  to  equip  ships 
for  sea  with  the  utmost  diligence,  and  to  succour  the 
Duc  d'Espernon.  This  concerned  him  more  than 
anyone  else,  because  he  was  vice-admiral,  a  position 
which  was  not  then  of  the  importance  it  is  to-day, 
but  which  has  since  become  a  very  great  one.  For 
instance,  when  it  was  proposed  to  give  it  some  time 
after  to  the  Comte  d'Etrées  (who  now  holds  it),  he 
refused  to  accept  it,  from  the  fear  that  it  might  stop 
him  from  one  day  becoming  a  Maréchal  of  France. 
He  v/as  already  a  lieutenant-general,  and  he  thought 
that,  being  as  far  advanced  as  he  was,  it  would  turn 
out  an  obstacle  to  his  fortunes  ;  accordingly,  M.  Colbert 
had  to  promise  him,  after  the  King  had  done  so,  that 
this  post  should  in  no  way  préjudice  his  claims,  and  it 
was  only  upon  that  condition  that  he  accepted  it. 

The  orders  I  had  for  the  Comte  d'Augnon  were  not 
only  by  word  of  mouth,  but  set  down  in  writing 
besides,  However,  M.  le  Prince,  who  was  well  pleased 
to  embarrass  the  Cardinal,  had  already  been   before- 


MEMOIRS   OF    D'ARTAGNAN  13 

hand  with  him,  so  as  to  oblige  him  to  hâve  recourse  to 
himself  to  pacify  the  province  and  thus  to  get  it  placed 
in  his  hands.  He  had  secretly  sent  one  of  his  gentlemen 
to  the  comte,  and  they  had  agreed  together  that, 
instead  of  acting  with  the  haste  enjoined,  he  should  do 
everything  in  such  a  slow  way  as  to  wreck  the  plans  of 
the  Court.  This  I  clearly  perceived,  directly  I  arrived 
at  the  governor's.  He  discovered  a  thousand  diffi- 
culties  about  whatever  I  might  propose  to  him,  and  on 
my  clearing  ail  of  them  away,  as  far  as  good  sensé 
would  allow  me  to  do,  although  I  understood  nothing 
about  naval  affairs,  which  were  under  discussion  in 
this  interview,  I  soon  saw  that  he  was  behaving  with  a 
remissness  which  could  only  be  very  suspicious,  instead 
of  with  that  earnestness  which  one  would  naturally 
hâve  expected  from  a  good  servant  of  the  King.  But 
now,  my  mission  being  finished,  and  having  nothing 
more  to  do  with  him,  I  had  no  sooner  described  what 
I  believed  myself  to  hâve  discovered  to  his  Eminence 
than  I  saw  two  deputies  of  Bordeaux  arriving  at  his 
house.  The  Duc  D'Espernon  had,  by  order  of  the 
Court,  granted  them  a  passport  to  come  and  see  him. 
Both  thèse  deputies  were  mortal  enemies  of  the 
governor,  which  had  he  been  master  of  the  situation, 
would  hâve  been  the  cause  of  his  refusing  it  to  them. 
The  principal  object  of  their  deputation  was  to  lodge 
complaints  against  him.  Amongst  other  things,  they 
accused  him  of  having  treated  them  like  a  tyrant,  and, 
although  they  did  not  dare  to  say  that  they  would 
continue  to  be  rebellious,  unless  M.  le  Prince  was 
appointed  governor  in  his  stead,  they  caused  it  to  be 
pretty  well  understood,  by  saying  that  their  province 
would  never  willingly  be  obedient  to  authority  until  a 


14  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

prince  of  the  blood  should  be  at  its  head.     They  said 
also  that,  were  M.  d'Espernon  not  removed,  some  dis- 
content would  always  linger  in  some  place  or  other, 
which  could  only  hâve  bad  results,  so  much  so  that  the 
interest  of  the  Court  as  well  as  their  own  lay  in  not 
refusing   them    this   satisfaction.     Meanwhile,    M.    le 
Prince  was  secretly  doing  ail  he  could  to  be  chosen  for 
the  post,  while  the  Comte  d'Augnon,  according  to  his 
advice,  took  such    a  long   time   to   put   to   sea,   that 
Château  Trompette  found  itself  in  extremities  before 
he  was  in  a  condition  to  relieve  it  ;  indeed,  this  fortress 
surrendered  before  he  had  confronted  the  enemy.     The 
Bordelais   demolished  it  without  waiting  a  moment's 
time,   although    they  were  treating   with   the   Court. 
They  acted  with  such  speed,  because  they  thought  that, 
this   being   done,    it   would    be    easier    for    them    to 
prevent  its  reconstruction,  than  it  would  be  to  obtain 
its  démolition,  were  it  left  standing.     This  was  a  daring 
stroke  ;  but,  as  the  weakness  of  the  government  allowed 
it,  it  did  not  prevent  their  obtaining  the  greater  part  of 
what  they  asked  for.     They  got  rid  of  their  governor, 
and,  M.  le  Prince  being  installed  in  his  place,  the  Duc 
d'Espernon  went  some  time  after  to  take  up  his  own 
governorship  in  Burgundy.     Folks  were  no  more  con- 
tented    there   than   they  had  been  in  Guyenne.     The 
inhabitants,  who  for  a  long-time  had  been  ruled  by  the 
first  prince  of  the  blood,  only  viewed  the  change  with 
regret.     M.  de  Tavannes,  lieutenant-general  of  the  pro- 
vince, who  also  deemed  it  an  honour  to  take  the  orders 
of  the  Prince  de  Condé,  was  no  more  pleased  than  other 
people.     M.  le  Prince  again  secretly  fomented   thèse 
feelings  of  discontent,  so   that,  although   he  had  no 
longer   any  right  to   give  orders  in  this   province,  he 


ME  M  01 R  s   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  15 

yet  rei'f^ned  there  just  as  absolutely  as  he  had  ever 
done. 

That  year  he  had  not  joined  the  army.  The 
Comte  d'Harcourt,  who,  as  I  hâve  elsewhere  said, 
had  distinguished  himself  in  a  number  of  encounters, 
had  taken  his  place  in  Flanders.  He  began  by  laying 
siège  to  Cambrai,  but  the  enemy  having  reheved  it  before 
his  Hnes  were  finished,  he  could  no  longer  continue  his 
undertaking.  He  marched  in  another  direction,  a  cir- 
cumstance  which  in  some  measure  obscured  the  glory 
which  he  had  gained  by  a  number  of  great  successes. 
M.  le  Prince,  who  had  wanted  to  stay  in  the  Cabinet, 
where  he  began  to  enjoy  himself  a  good  deal  more  than 
with  the  army,  was  delighted  at  what  had  happened, 
which  seemed  likely  to  further  enhance  his  own 
réputation,  although  it  was  already  at  the  highest 
point.  The  more  the  Comte  d'Harcourt  passed  for 
a  great  captain,  the  more  reason  was  there  for  praising 
him,  for  he  had  always  laid  his  plans  so  well  that  such  a 
thing  had  never  occurred  to  him  except  once  at  Lerida. 
The  Cardinal,  who  disliked  his  triumph,  very  nearly 
died  of  grief.  In  the  meantime,  as  he  was  clever  and 
crafty,  he  tried  to  make  M.  le  Prince  lose  not  only  the 
réputation  which  ail  this  had  given  him,  but  further, 
to  make  ail  the  blâme  for  it  fall  upon  his  shoulders. 
He  secretly  had  the  rumour  spread  that  he  had  refused 
to  take  the  command  of  the  army,  and  that,  had  he 
been  with  it,  nothing  would  hâve  happened  that  year. 
Besides  this,  thèse  rumours,  added  to  the  refusai  which 
his  Eminence  had  just  given  him  of  the  governorship 
of  Pont  de  l'Arche,  threw  M.  le  Prince  into  such  a 
great  passion  against  him,  that  he  said  a  number  of 
things  to  him  which  did  not  appear  seemly,  coming 


i6  ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

from   the   mouth   of  a   prince   of  his   rank.      For,  as 
he  was  more  fit  to  strike  a  blow  than  anyone  else, 
people  would  hâve  liked  ail  his  actions  to  correspond 
with  his  réputation,  and  it  seemed  that,  as  he   had 
had  recourse  like  a  woman  to  biting  words  wherewith 
to  show  his  resentment,  they  had  in  no  way  done  so. 
It  was  thought  that  this  kind  of  insuit  was  a  weapon 
much  more  fit  for  women  than  for  a  hero  like  him.     Ail 
the  army  knew  of  thèse  scandais,  just  as  well  as  the 
whole   Court  and  the  whole  of  Paris,  and,  although 
the   Comte    d'Harcourt    did   everything    he   could  to 
gain  the  friendship  of  the  officers,  there  were   none 
of  them,   at   least   among   the   most   important  ones, 
who   did   not   proceed   to   inform   M.  le  Prince  that, 
should  his  différences  with  the  minister  go  any  further, 
they   would   not   hesitate   to   embrace   the   Cardinal's 
interests    against   his  own.      The   Cardinal,  who  had 
this  in  common  with  his  predecessor,  that   he  tried 
to  hâve  spies  everywhere,  got  news  of  this  through  a 
man  called  Du  Tôt,  who  believed  that,  to  make  one's 
fortune,  one  must  attach  oneself  to  the  minister   in 
préférence  to  everything  else.     An  attempt  had  been 
made  to  win  him  over,  as  he  was  in  the  service  and 
well  enough  liked  by  the  soldiers.     Debas,  a  créature 
of  M.  le  Prince,  one  who  was  from  my  province,  had 
been  employed  in  this  ;    but  Du  Tôt  had  told  him  in 
formai  terms  that  he  was  the  servant  of  M.  le  Prince, 
but  not  to  such  a  point  as  to  déclare  himself  against 
him  whom   the   Queen-mother   had   selected   to   hold 
the    reins    of   state.      He   would   not,   he   said,   enter 
into    a    discussion    as    to    whether    he    was    worthy 
to   do   so   or   not;    it  was   not   for   him  to  judge   of 
this,  but    for   the    Queen,  and,  until   the   time    when 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  17 

she  should  hâve  deposed  him,  he  would  remain  faithful 
to  him  until  his  last  breath.  Indeed,  continued  he, 
he  made  no  distinction  between  failing  in  fidelity  to 
him  or  to  the  King,  until  such  time  as  he  should  hâve 
been  proscribed.  The  Cardinal  was  very  pleased  with 
:his  answer,  vi^hich  he  only  heard  a  long  time  after, 
that  is  to  say,  when  Debas,  who  was  then  trying  to 
corrupt  others,  let  himself  be  corrupted.  As  Du  Tôt 
made  a  point  of  being  an  honest  man,  he  preferred 
that  he  should  hear  of  it  from  someone  else  than 
himself.  He  contented  himself  with  doing  his  duty, 
without  attempting  to  praise  himself.  For  this  reason, 
although  I  hâve  just  now  given  him  the  name  of 
"  spy,"  I  do  not  think  I  had  much  reason  for  doing 
so.  One  may  let  a  minister  know  of  what  is  happening 
prejudicial  to  the  service  of  the  King  without  sullying 
one's  honour  ;  this  is  ail  he  did,  and  therefore  it  is  only 
fair  to  do  him  justice. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  his  Eminence,  perceiving  that  a 
great  storm  was  brewing  against  himself,  considered 
that  there  was  no  better  expédient  to  divert  it  than  to 
carry  out  his  résolve.  Meanwhile,  so  as  not  to  be  cen- 
sured  in  the  world,  and  in  order  on  the  contrary  to 
find  defenders  when  the  friends  and  créatures  of  M.  le 
Prince  should  rise  against  him,  he  granted  him  the 
governorship  of  Pont  de  l'Arche  after  having  a  long 
time  refused  to  do  so,  and  with  much  firmness  too. 
He  even  had  this  refusai  widely  announced,  so  that 
everyone  might  think,  as  was  true,  that  M.  le  Prince 
had  rather  extracted  this  favour  from  him  than  he 
himself  had  granted  it.  M.  le  Prince,  who  had  not 
yet  ail  the  expérience  he  has  since  gained,  reckoning 
this  as  a  great  triumph,  boasted  of  it  in   private  to 

VOL.  II  2 


i8  MEMOIRE   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

those  whom  he  thought  his  friends,  but,  as  many  of 
those  to  whom  one  gives  that  name  are  far  from 
deserving  to  bear  it,  there  was  one  who  went  so  far  as 
to  report  it  to  his  Eminence.  This  increased  the 
reasons  for  resentment  which  that  minister  enter- 
tained  against  him,  and  having  made  the  Queen 
share  his  displeasure,  her  Majesty  thought  it  best  to 
take  measures  with  the  Parlement,  so  that  it  might 
not  espouse  his  cause.  Not  that  that  body  had  much 
cause  for  doing  this,  for  in  addition  to  having  declared 
against  it  in  the  civil  war,  he  had  further  had  the 
houses  of  ail  its  members  so  plundered,  that  one 
might  hâve  said  that  he  had  been  intent  upon  such 
a  course  of  action.  The  Cardinal  had  obtained  this 
from  her  as  a  favour,  not  that  he  then  dreamt  of  what 
was  to  happen,  but  so  that,  sharing  part  of  the  public 
hatred  with  himself,  their  interests  might  in  the  future 
become  but  identical.  In  this,  his  policy  was  not  bad  : 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  that  of  a  clever  Italian,  but,  as 
it  frequently  happens  that  the  plans  one  has  made  turn 
eut  quite  differently  from  what  one  expects,  instead  of 
so  uniting  their  fortunes,  he  found  means  of  making 
everything  which  occurred  contribute  to  his  ruin.  To 
undertake  this  stroke,  it  was  necessary  to  associate  in 
his  fortunes  the  Duc  d'Orléans,  who  was  a  meek  prince 
and  allowed  himself  to  be  ruled.  His  rank  as  uncle 
of  the  King  gave  him  a  great  position  in  the  State,  and 
in  some  measure  made  up  for  the  small  considération 
he  was  held  in  for  any  personal  qualities.  M.  le  Prince, 
who  knew  him  better  than  anyone  else,  had  tried  by 
his  tact  to  efface  any  resentment  which  he  might 
retain  about  the  affair  of  the  officer.^  Meanwhile, 
as  a  single  word  of  the  Abbé  de  la  Rivière,  to  whom 
^  See  Volume  i,  page  359. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  19 

the  Court  had  recently  given  the  bishopric  of  Langres, 
and  who  had  absolute  power  over  his  mind,  was  more 
than  enough  to  make  his  schemes  fail,  he  took  measures 
with  him,  so  that,  very  far  from  opposing  him,  he  might 
favour  his  plans  to  the  best  of  his  endeavours. 

This  bishop  was  a  man  from  the  dregs  of  the  people, 
but  who  for  ail  that  was  none  the  less  greedy.  When 
he  came  to  monsieur,  he  would  hâve  thought  himself  too 
happy  if  he  had  been  given  a  small  bénéfice  of  five  or 
six  hundred  "  livres,"  but  his  good  grâces,  into  which 
he  had  quite  immediately  entered,  having  procured  for 
him  some  abbeys  and  eventually  a  bishopric,  he  dreamt 
of  equalling  the  Cardinal,  whom  the  voice  of  slander 
reported  to  be  of  like  birth  to  himself.  Those  who 
knew  the  real  state  of  things  did  not  believe  this, 
although  the  hatred  they  bore  him,  just  like  the  others, 
made  them  disposed  towards  everything  which  could 
do  him  harm.  The  Bishop  of  Langres  might  hâve 
discovered  the  truth  just  the  same  as  thèse  people 
did,  but,  as  he  was  very  desirous  of  not  knowing  it, 
in  order  that  so  much  fault  might  not  be  found  with 
him  for  trying  to  equal  the  Cardinal,  he  began  to  want 
to  don  the  purple,  not  finding  that  the  camaiP  and 
the  mitre  honoured  him  suffîciently.  So  it  is  that,  as 
one  advances,  one  always  aspires  to  something  one  does 
not  possess.  Be  this  as  it  may,  this  bishop,  finding 
no  disposition  at  Court  towards  making  his  schemes 
succeed,  turned  in  the  direction  of  M.  le  Prince,  who 
did  not  fail  to  proffer  him  ail  the  advances  possible, 
so  that  at  the  right  time  he  might  check  his  master  in 
the  event  of  someone  cropping  up  to  try  and  make 
mischief  between  them. 

^  An  ornament  worn  by  a  bishop  over  his  lawn  sieeves. 

2 — 2 


iô  MEMOtRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

The  Bishop  of  Langres  did  not  refuse  his  friendship, 
and,  as  he  knew  that  M.  le  Prince  had  for  some  time 
placed  himself  upon  a  footing  to  obtain,  by  fair  means 
or  foui,  everything  he  might  want  for  himself  or  his 
créatures,  he  thought  that  he  would  once  more  do  for 
him  what  he  had  already  done  for  so  many  others. 
Accordingly,  their  interests  requiring  that  they  should 
both  unité  against  the  Cardinal,  M.  le  Prince  deemed 
himself  in  such  great  safety  on  account  of  this,  as  to 
think  himself  at  the  top  of  the  tree  ;  so  coming  to  an 
open  quarrel  at  every  moment  with  this  minister,  the 
latter  became  so  bitter  against  him,  as  not  to  be  at  rest 
till  he  had  had  him  arrested. 

For  this  he  had  either  to  again  win  over  the  Bishop 
of  Langres,  with  whom  he  had  for  some  time  trifled, 
promising  him  afresh  that  the  King  would  ask  of 
Rome  the  hat  he  so  much  coveted,  it  was  necessary, 
I  repeat,  to  find  means  either  of  deluding  him  again 
or  at  least  to  make  him  lose  his  master's  confidence, 
so  as  to  get  the  latter  to  sanction  the  résolve  which 
had  been  taken  against  the  Prince  de  Condé.  Without 
him  one  dared  not  carry  it  out.  The  danger  was  too 
great,  and  it  would  hâve  been  the  means  of  arousing 
the  whole  State  against  the  government  of  the  day. 
Finally,  although  the  one  course  seemed  no  less  difficult 
than  the  other,  on  account  of  the  obstacles  which 
appeared  on  ail  sides,  his  Excellency  nevertheless 
decided  that,  from  the  disposition  of  the  Duc  d'Orléans' 
mind,  hc  would  succeed  better  with  him  than  with 
the  other.  The  bishop  was  too  well  trained  in  his 
work  to  let  himself  be  caught  a  second  time,  whereas, 
if  someone  who  had  a  little  sensé  and  tact  was  to  be 
found,  he  might  hope  to  make  the  duc  do  everything 
he  wanted. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  «i 

There  were  then  three  parties  in  the  State  :  that  of 
the  Court,  commonly  called  the  Mazarin  party  :  that 
of  the  Prince  de  Condé,  and  that  of  the  Parlement, 
called  by  the  nanie  of  Frondeurs.  This  name  had 
been  given  to  it  because,  during  the  height  of  the  civil 
war,  some  members  of  that  body  had  advised  not 
only  that  very  severe  measures  should  be  taken 
against  the  Cardinal,  but  further  had  maintained 
that,  to  ruin  him  entirely,  a  proceeding  of  this  kind 
was  necessary,  in  such  a  heated  manner  that  they  had 
corne  to  abusing  their  own  colleagues.  Their  rage 
arose  from  thèse  latter  not  sharing  their  feelings  as 
they  desired,  and  being,  on  the  contrary,  inclined  to 
smooth  over  matters.  The  first  of  thèse  parties  was 
composed  of  most  of  the  courtiers,  the  second  of  a 
great  number  of  military  officers,  some  even  of  those 
most  esteemed,  the  third,  of  the  Duc  de  Beaufort, 
of  the  Coadjutor^  of  Paris  who  was  a  brother  of  the 
Duc  de  Retz  and  of  the  whole  of  the  people  of  that 
great  city.  Thèse  citizens  did  not  really  know  what 
they  wanted  :  had  they  known,  they  would  but  hâve 
thought  of  keeping  peace.  They  had  already  suffered 
so  many  evils  from  civil  war  that,  although  this  one  had 
lasted  no  longer  than  six  weeks,  more  than  six 
years  were  yet  necessary  to  efface  its  effects.  But 
the  Word  "  tax,"  which  is  hateful  to  the  populace, 
(and  the  horror  of  which  the  Parlement  was  further 
clever  enough  to  add  to  by  reporting  that  the  Cardinal 
had  ail  the  money  it  was  producing  sent  into  Italy) 
making  them  ready  for  ail  the  ideas  one  wanted  to 
impress  upon    them,  their  simplicity   reached  such  a 

^  The  Cardinal  de  Retz,  Jean  François  Paul  de  Gondi,  born 
Î614,  died  at  Paris,  1679. 


aa  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

pitch  that  they  began  to  believe  that  taxes  would  be 
totally  abolished,  ovving  to  the  Parlement  taking  up  the 
matter. 

As  it  was  a  great  thing  to  hâve  thèse  people,  who 
are  almost  equal  in  number  to  the  whole  of  the  rest  of 
the  kingdom,  on  one's  side,  the  Cardinal  (who  knew 
that  he  was  not  Hked  by  the  Parlement,  and  that,  con- 
sequently,  directly  that  body  perceived  the  arrest  of 
the  Prince  de  Condé,  it  would  make  use  of  the 
opportunity  to  ruin  him),  tried  not  only  to  alienate 
the  Duc  de  Beaufort  and  the  Coadjutor  from  it,  but 
also  to  embroil  them  with  the  Prince  de  Condé  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  make  them  keep  that  body  in  the 
path  of  duty  through  the  delight  they  would  feel  at  his 
fate.  This  was  difficult  enough  for  him  to  do  in  the 
case  of  the  first-named  nobleman.  The  resentment 
he  still  retained  on  account  of  his  imprisonment,  when 
he  had  been  treated  with  much  severity,  was  yet  so 
active  in  his  mind  that  he  could  not  hear  the  Cardinal 
spoken  of  without  disgust.  For  instance,  although  his 
Eminence  was  thinking  of  giving  one  of  his  nièces  to 
his  elder  brother,  which  in  his  idea  was  to  bring  about 
a  reconciliation,  up  to  that  time  it  had  produced  so 
small  an  effect  that  he  wished  him  just  as  much  evil 
as  ever.  As  to  the  Coadjutor,  his  mind  was  no  better 
disposed  in  his  favour,  as  he  not  only  aspired  to  the 
purple,  but  also  to  dépose  the  minister  so  as  to  him- 
self  take  his  place.  He  regarded  the  Cardinal  with 
just  as  much  envy  as  a  lover  does  a  rival  who 
happens  to  be  favoured.  Besides,  he  was  none  too 
well  pleased  with  the  Queen,  who  had  not  received 
the  offers  of  help,  which  he  had  gone  to  make  her  on 
the  day  of  the  barricades,  in  any  too  gracious  a  manner. 


MEMOIRS    OF  D'ARTAGNAN  23 

She  had  indeed  scarcely  looked  at  him,  either  because 
she  knew  him  to  be  possessed  of  ambition  enough  to 
make  her  feel  sure  that  he  was  capable  of  inciting 
thèse  disturbances  rather  than  calming  them,  or 
because  she  was  in  such  a  bad  humour  at  what  had 
just  happened,  that  she  was  unable  to  think  over 
things  as  thoroughly  as  was  her  custom  on  other 
occasions. 

Thèse  difficulties,  which  were  great  enough  to  hâve 
discouraged  anyone  but  the  Cardinal,  did  not  never- 
theless  discourage  him.  As,  in  matters  of  cunning  and 
knavery,  he  would  hâve  been  very  sorry  to  give  way  to 
anybody,  he  thought  of  something  which  nobody  per- 
haps  but  himself  would  hâve  dreamt  of.  He  posted 
men  at  night,  who  fired  musket  shots  into  the  carriage 
of  M.  le  Prince,  while  he  was  passing  over  the  Pont 
Neuf.  By  good  luck  he  was  not  in  the  carriage,  but 
one  of  his  lackeys  (for  thus  he  himself  termed  them, 
and  I  may  well  do  the  same  thing  after  his  example) 
having  been  wounded,  he  believed,  as  appeared  to  be 
the  case,  and  as  the  Cardinal  was  well  pleased  he 
should  suspect,  that  someone  had  wished  to  assassinate 
him.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not  know  who  was  at  the 
bottom  of  it,  unless  it  was  the  minister.  He  believed 
that,  except  him,  he  had  never  offended  anyone,  but 
his  Eminence,  to  whose  advantage  it  would  not  hâve 
been  to  hâve  left  him  under  this  impression,  having 
soon  disabused  him  of  it  and  made  him  believe  that, 
far  from  an  attempt  of  this  kind  being  his  work,  the 
Coadjutor  was  much  more  the  right  person  to  be 
suspected,  he  strengthened  this  slander  by  some  cir- 
cumstances  which  were  likely  to  thoroughly  impress 
this   idea   upon   the   prince's   mind   beforehand.     The 


24  MEMOIRE   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

circumstances  in  question  were  that,  in  a  conversation 
which  the  prince  had  had  with  some  persons  of  rank, 
he  had  slightly  lampooned  the  Coadjutor.  He  had 
described  him  as  being  more  amorous  than  pious,  and, 
as  truth  offends  more  grievously  than  anything  else, 
and  as  even  that  which  has  merely  its  appearance  often 
produces  the  same  effect  as  truth  itself,  the  prince  was 
ail  the  more  inclined  to  believe  this  was  the  case, 
knowing  from  a  good  source  that  his  words  had  been 
repeated. 

Appearances  were  sufficient  to  condemn  him.  He 
made  a  violent  attack  upon  him.  He  openly  blamed 
the  Coadjutor,  and,  the  matter  being  reported  to 
the  functionary,  and  the  prince  even  declining  to 
hear  his  defence,  the  fear  which  he  was  in  of  his 
violence  (taies  of  which  abounded  on  ail  sides)  made 
him  seek  a  protector  in  the  person  of  the  Cardinal. 
His  Eminence  got  him  cheap,  because  he  saw  that  he 
had  need  of  his  help.  They  both  joined  together 
against  the  prince,  and,  as  the  Coadjutor  was  one  of 
the  friends  of  the  Duc  de  Beaufort,  he  promised  the 
minister,  while  making  his  pact,  that  he  would  get  him 
to  join  them  if  he  could.  He  also  promised  that, 
should  he  be  unable  to  do  so,  he  would  at  ail  events 
be  answerable  for  his  not  siding  with  the  prince  against 
him.  M.  le  Cardinal  was  satisfied  with  this  promise, 
and,  perceiving  that  he  had  nothing  further  to  fear  in 
this  quarter,  now  only  thought  of  striking  the  blow 
he  had  contemplated  for  such  a  long  time.  The  thing 
was  very  cleverly  carried  out,  just  when  the  prince 
least  expected  it.  The  minister,  having  found  means  to 
get  the  three  princes,  against  whom  he  had  conspired, 
assembled  together  on  the  pretext  of  some  business  the 


MEMOIRS    OF   D'ARTAGNAN  25 

Comte  de  Matignon  had  with  the  Council,  had  the 
comte  secretly  informed  that  he  must  not  only  beg 
M.  de  Longueville  to  be  there,  but  also  make  him  see 
that  his  brothers-in-law  were  présent.  This  they  did 
without  suspecting  anything,  and  were  in  this  manner 
arrested  and  taken  to  the  Château  of  Vincennes, 
where  the  Cardinal  confided  them  to  the  keeping  of 
Debas,  who  was  a  shrewd  Gascon.  The  latter  had  been 
my  comrade  whilst  I  was  with  his  Eminence,  and 
never  did  man  better  understartd  the  secret  of  deceiving 
the  public  than  he  !  Everyone  thought  him  incapable 
of  knavery,  so  much  so  that  those  who  had  not  quite 
the  same  opinion  of  the  Cardinal  said,  when  speaking 
of  him,  that  he  was  a  living  contradiction  of  the  proverb 
which  informs  us,  that  servants  are  usually  like  their 
master.  However,  in  the  end,  after  having  played  his 
part  so  well  for  some  time,  he  showed  clearly  that  it 
was  but  too  true  that  faith  should  be  placed  in  this 
proverb.  Indeed,  he  got  hold  of  a  hundred  thousand 
crowns  which  the  Comte  de  Seulemberg,  Governor  of 
Arras  (who  has  since  become  Maréchal  of  France 
under  the  name  of  Moudejeu)  had  confided  to  him. 

The  worthy  Guittaut,  captain  of  theQueen's  Guards, 
accompanied  by  his  nephew  De  Comminges,  was  the 
individual  who  arrested  the  three  princes,  and,  as  there 
was  a  danger  of  their  being  rescued  on  the  way,  his 
Eminence  promised  the  Comte  de  Miossens,  lieutenant 
of  the  Company  of  gendarmes  of  the  guard  of  the  King, 
that,  provided  he  should  safely  conduct  them  to  prison, 
he  would  procure  the  bâton  of  a  Maréchal  of  France 
for  him.  It  is  he  whom  we  hâve  since  seen  calling 
himself  the  Maréchal  d'Albret,  a  shrewd  Gascon,  and 
a  man  of  inordinate  ambition  ;  this  is  shown  by  the 


26  ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

fact  that  such  an  honour,  which  is  usually  bestowed 
only  as   a  reward  for  great  deeds,  cost  him  but  the 
trouble  of  going  two  leagues  by  the  side  of  a  carriage 
containing  three  prisoners.     However,  this  is  nothing 
to  be  surprised  at.     He  was  one  of  those  people  with 
whom  everythingsucceeded,  and  one  who,  if  I  may  use 
an  expression  which  is  usually  employed  to  designate  a 
lucky  man,  was  born  with  a  silver  spoon  in  his  mouth. 
It  is  true  he  could  boast  of  a  fine  name — the  name  of 
D'Albret  is  one  with  which  no  others  can  compare  ;  so, 
if  it  had  been  his  by  right,  it  would  hâve  been  more 
excusable  for  him  than  for  the  Maréchal  de  Turenne  to 
be  unwilling  to  be   called   maréchal.      Scions   of  the 
family  of  D'Albret,  had  there  been  any  in  existence, 
would  indeed  hâve  considered  themselves  dishonoured 
by   such  a  thing,  but   as   there  is   a   great  différence 
between  bastards  and  legitimate  heirs,  one  must  not 
be  surprised  if  he  whom  I  speak  of  showed  himself 
less  délicate  than  those  from  whose  left  side  he  sprang. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  I  hâve  not  been  far  out,  it  seems 
to  me,  in  declaring  that  he  was   born   with   a   silver 
spoon  in  his  mouth,  since  in  his  youth,  being  on  the 
point  of  returning  to  his  native  province  from  lack  of 
money,  he  had  found  a  lady  who  paid  him  so  well  for 
certain  services   he   had  performed  for   her,   that   he 
obtained  the  wherewithal  to  buy  a  company  in  the 
Guards.     He  had  also  obtained  a   good   many  other 
favours  from  this  lady,  in  short,  it  was  to  her  he  owed 
his  good  fortune.     It  is  true  that  he  was  not  the  first  ; 
a  circumstance  which  well  deserved  that  she  should 
pay  him  better  than  if  she  had  presented  him  with  an 
entirely  virgin  heart.     As  apparently  she  had  a  fancy 
for  the  tribe  of  bastards,  a  former  lover  of  hers  had 


ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  27 

been  a  man  who  was  a  by-blow  of  her  own  family. 
Besides  this,  she  had  had  many  other  lovers,  some 
bastards,  some  of  legitimate  birth.  Somebody  one  day 
had  been  near  telling  this  to  her  husband,  who  was 
a  hero  of  the  fîrst  rank,  but,  as  there  was  no  need  of 
his  being  told  for  him  to  know  it,  and  as  he  was  of 
opinion  that  in  thèse  sort  of  matters  it  was  much  better 
to  prétend  to  be  blind  than  too  clear-sighted,  he  replied 
to  the  individuals,  who  spoke  to  him,  who  from  feeHngs 
of  dehcacy  talked  as  if  of  things  far  away  and  as  meaning 
someone  else  than  himself,  that  for  his  part,  were  his 
wife  a  flirt,  he  would  be  so  annoyed  to  be  told  about  it 
by  anyone  as  to  believe  that  the  only  reward  he  could 
give  to  such  charitable  folks  would  be  to  run  his  sword 
through  their  bodies.  His  would-be  informants  needed 
no  more  to  make  them  shut  their  mouths.  They 
heartily  agreed  that  he  would  never  escape  from  a 
state  of  cuckoldom,  as  men  sometimes  claim  to  do 
who  kill  their  wife's  lovers  ;  but  they  may  say  what 
they  like,  I  do  not  see  that  they  escape  any  the  more 
by  so  doing.  On  the  contrary,  I  think  that,  instead 
of  extricating  themselves  from  the  mire,  they  but  sink 
the  deeper  into  it.  Indeed,  it  is  but  publishing  their 
misfortune,  and  from  being  like  Cornélius  Tacitus, 
whom  at  first  they  resemble,  they  become,  as  says  a 
common  proverb,  with  some  wit  at  least  on  the  part 
of  the  individual  who  first  originated  it,  like  Cornélius 
Publicus  ! 

M.  le  Prince  being  thus  in  prison,  his  friends  and 
parasites,  who  were  in  despair,  had  the  added  grief 
of  seeing  a  display  of  fire-works  given  by  the  city. 
Nevertheless,  the  cry  of  "  Vive  Mazarin"  was  not  heard 
as  *'  Vive  BrousseV  had  formerly  been.    The  inhabitants 


28  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

contented  themselves  with  only  celebrating  the  memory 
of  the  justice,  which  they  believed  had  been  granted 
them  in  depriving  of  liberty  a  man  who  had  not  only 
robbed  them  of  part  of  their  property,  but  had  also 
so  thoroughly  blocked  the  roads  into  the  town,  that 
it  had  not  been  his  fault  he  had  not  made  them  die 
of  hunger. 

After  they  had  committed  a  thousand  follies  about 
this,  as  was  usually  their  way  in  matters  which  they 
thought  concerned  their  interests,  they  calmed  down 
their  great  ardour  which  made  people,  who  had  any 
brains,  laugh.  M.  le  Cardinal,  to  whom  I  paid  my 
court  much  more  assiduously  now  that  I  was  no  longer 
in  his  service,  seeing  me  one  day  in  his  room,  where 
there  was  scarcely  anyone  else,  asked  me  what  I 
thought  of  such  an  unexpected  change.  At  first,  I 
would  say  nothing  in  reply:  not  that  I  did  not  know 
what  I  ought  to  answer,  but  perhaps  from  fear  of  dis- 
pleasing  him  by  speaking  freely  to  him.  Nevertheless, 
my  silence  only  increasing  his  vanity  the  more,  "Hâve 
your  say,"  said  he,  "and  know  that  I  do  not  approve 
of  you  alone  being  silent  about  a  matter  in  which  it 
seems  to  me  I  deserve  at  least  some  praise."  "I  am 
sure  of  it,  Monseigneur,"  I  replied,  "since  you  hâve 
donc  everything  you  could  to  succeed  :  but  to  believe 
that  things  will  turn  out  for  you  as  you  think,  is 
something  I  will  not  agrée  to  so  early  in  the  day." 
He  would  not  let  me  say  more,  and  having  as  it  were 
snatched  the  right  of  speaking  away  from  me, — "You 
are  playing  the  clever  man,"  he  continued,  "but,  to 
show  you  that  you  are  just  as  likely  to  be  deceived  as 
other  people,  I  want  you  to  come  in  my  carriage  with 
me  this  moment:    I  désire,  I  repeat,  to  show  you  by 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  29 

the  extent  of  the  public  acclamations,  that  you  are 
wrong  not  to  believe  that  I  am  now  as  popular  with 
the  populace  as  in  the  past  I  was  the  contrary."  I  would 
say  nothing  more  to  him,  from  fear  of  paining  him  by 
continuing  to  try  and  disabuse  his  mind.  Meanwhile, 
we  got  up  into  the  carriage  as  he  desired,  his  Eminence 
being  in  the  back  with  M.  de  Navailles,  and  myself  in 
front  with  Champfleuri,  the  captain  of  his  guards.  The 
carriage  we  were  in  was  magnificent,  the  horses  the 
same — ail  of  them  the  best  he  had  in  his  stable,  for  he 
wanted  to  attract  everybody's  attention;  but,  instead 
of  succeeding  in  his  wishes  through  ail  this,  just  the 
opposite  happened  to  him.  The  more  his  équipage 
was  worthy  of  the  admiration  of  the  Parisians,  the 
more  they  made  it  a  subject  for  abusing  him.  This  I 
clearly  perceived  from  the  way  they  were  talking  to 
one  another,  even  had  not  their  looks  shown  it  me  well 
enough.  Not  a  man  took  off  his  hat  to  the  Cardinal, 
who  was  regarded  by  the  people  as  one  only  tricked 
out  at  their  expansé.  We  traversed  the  city  from  the 
Palais  Royal  to  the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  without  a  soûl 
presenting  himself  before  us  to  acclaim  his  Eminence 
in  any  way.  Navailles,  who  was  already  desirous  of  his 
returning  to  the  Palais  Royal,  tried  to  divert  him  on  the 
way  with  jokes,  so  as  to  spare  him  the  pain  of  what  he 
saw,  but  he  had  no  désire  for  laughter,  especially  after 
having  boasted  so  magnificently,  as  he  had  done,  that 
he  had  only  to  show  himself  to  disillusion  me  of  my 
ideas,  and  so  nothing  could  equal  his  confusion  on 
his  return.  I  began  to  talk  as  Navailles  had  done  to 
dissipate  his  annoyance,  but,  as  he  knew  that  I  was 
a  long  way  from  being  as  easy-going  as  he  was,  he  did 
not  take  it  in  the  same  way. 


30  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Indeed,  to  tell  the  truth,  this  man  was  as  clever 
a  courtier  as  the  Court  has  ever  seen.  The  fortune 
he  made  there  clearly  shows  this.  From  being  a 
cadet  de  Gascogne^  as  he  was,  to  hâve  amassed  an 
income  of  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  livres  is  a 
good  proof  that  he  knew  more  than  others.  True,  that 
the  daughter  of  his  eldest  brother,  whose  property  he 
had,  complains  a  little  !  Whether  she  is  right  or  wrong, 
is  a  thing  I  will  not  go  into  nor  will  I  mix  myself  up 
with  it.  I  hâve  enough  to  do  with  my  own  affairs 
without  embarrassing  myself  with  other  people's.  If 
he  has  done  well  or  ill,  iet  those  whose  business  it  is 
look  to  it — it  does  not  concern  me. 

In  the  meantime,  the  three  prisoners  were  transferred 
from  the  Château  of  Vincennes  to  that  of  I\Iarcoussis 
and  from  there  to  Havre  de  Grâce.  Information  arrived 
that  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne,  who  had  allowed  him- 
self  to  be  won  over  to  the  side  of  the  Prince  de 
Condé,  was  advancing  towards  Champagne,  which  he 
reckoned  he  would  march  through  without  difficulty. 
His  intention  was  to  come  and  extricate  him  from 
the  prison,  which  was  incapable  of  resisting  his 
army,  but  his  Eminence  having  provided  against  this 
in  the  way  I  hâve  just  described,  the  Vicomte  de 
Turenne  laid  siège  to  Rhetel  and  captured  it.  The 
archduke  had  given  him  some  troops  which  he  had 
joined  to  some  régiments  of  his  own.  AU  thèse  made 
up  an  army  of  from  thirteen  to  fourteen  thousand 
men.     Turenne  alone  was   in   command  without   the 

1  The  cadets  de  Gascogne  were  more  celebrated  for  their 
devilry  and  daring,  than  for  their  worldly  possessions,  which 
were  as  a  rule  very  trifling.  Cyrano  de  Bergerac,  it  will  be 
remembered,  served  under  the  famous  Carbon-Castel-Jaloux  as 
a  "cadet  de  Gascogne." 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  31 

archduke  being  there  in  person,  as  I  perceive  many 
historians  déclare  was  the  case,  but  this  is  just  where 
they  must  not  be  believed,  since  it  is  certain  that  the 
prince  in  question  was  at  Brusscls.  I  speak  of  this  as 
an  expert,  I  who  soon  after  found  myself  among  the 
troops  who  had  to  do  with  the  Prince  de  Condé,  and 
who  totally  defeated  him. 

I  had  not  made  a  bad  estimate  as  to  the  feehngs  of 
the  Parisians  towards  his  Eminence.  The  hatred  they 
bore  him  made  them  soon  forget  the  wrongs  they 
deemed  themselves  to  hâve  received  from  the  Prince 
de  Condé,  so,  weeping  for  his  misfortunes  with  the 
same  eyes  which  one  had  seen  flash  with  joy  at  the  news 
of  his  imprisonment,  they  raised  a  great  outcry  that 
he  and  his  brothers  should  be  set  at  hberty,  and 
that  the  Cardinal  should  be  expelled  from  office.  The 
Parlement,  which  secretly  made  them  do  this,  and 
which,  since  the  peace,  had  done  a  number  of  things 
which  showed  plainly  enough  that  it  would  never  obey 
the  minister  except  by  compulsion,  soon  joined  with 
the  malcontents  to  assist  them  in  their  revolt.  There 
were  in  it  the  seeds  of  rébellion  which  the  peace  had 
never  rooted  up,  so,  suddenly  regaining  its  former 
strength,  it  recommenced  its  sittings  in  défiance  of 
their  having  been  forbidden  to  do  so  by  the  Court. 
The  Cardinal  secretly  opposed  this  before  openly  doing 
so.  He  complained  to  the  Coadjutor,  who  had  pro- 
mised  to  keep  this  body  (the  Parlement)  faithful  to 
him,  that  he  was  keeping  his  word  badly,  and  that, 
after  having  made  him  believe  it  would  make  no  move, 
it  was  doing  worse  than  it  had  ever  done.  He  told 
him  that  it  was  his  business  to  stop  it,  since  he  had 
undertaken  to  do  so.     The  Coadjutor  had  not  a  word 


32  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

to  say  to  this.  It  was  true  that  he  had  given  his  word 
to  the  Cardinal  to  restrain  the  Parlement  at  any  time 
it  should  be  inclined  to  make  a  disturbance,  but,  as 
his  Eminence  for  his  part  had  promised  to  obtain  a 
Cardinal's  hat  for  him  and  it  did  not  arrive,  this 
functionary  took  no  trouble  to  satisfy  his remonstrances. 
Both  of  them  were  only  trying  to  cheat  one  another. 
The  whole  question  at  first  lay  in  doing  so  in  such  a 
cunning  way  that  no  one  should  discover  it,  but 
as  this  was  very  difficult  now  that  they  knew  one 
another  better  than  they  had  at  first  done,  suspicion 
follovved  the  friendship  they  had  mutually  promised, 
hatred  then  ensued,  and  at  last  a  fixed  désire  to  ruin 
each  other. 

The  Vicomte  de  Turenne,  after  having  captured 
Rhetel,  also  thought  to  get  the  whole  frontier  of 
Champagne  under  his  sway.  This  was  not  difBcult 
for  him,  while  matters  remained  in  their  présent  state. 
There  was  no  one  to  défend  it,  and  the  conquests 
which  the  minister  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to  make  in 
Italy  for  his  private  ends,  kept  troops  there,  which 
would  hâve  been  much  better  employed  in  Champagne 
than  in  a  country  separated  from  us  by  a  barrier  which 
could  not  be  forced  without  apparently  running  against 
the  will  of  God.  For  indeed,  when  one  looks  closely 
into  things,  it  seems  that  there  is  truth  in  saying  that 
He  has  decreed  that  there  should  be  limits  to  kingdoms, 
and  that  they  could  not  hâve  been  better  defined  than 
by  the  chain  of  mountains  which  séparâtes  that  country 
from  our  own.  Thesamethingappliesto  the  Pyrénées, 
which  God  also  appears  to  hâve  placed  where  they 
are,  only  as  a  division  of  our  crown  from  that  of  Spain. 
But  in  short,  as  it  is  not  a  new  thing  for  men  to  go 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  33 

against  the  wishes  of  the  Sovereign  Lord  of  ail  things 
and  even  when  they  are  laid  down  in  Holy  Writ,  so, 
when  ail  that  can  be  said  rests  merely  upon  a  pre- 
sumption,  there  is  no  cause  for  surprise  in  their 
contravening  them  with  even  greater  audacity.  People 
soon  smother  ail  their  better  thoughts  to  further  their 
ambition,  and  the  désire  they  hâve  to  dominate  the 
whole  world  makes  them  not  only  cross  mountains 
but  whole  seas  besides,  if  it  is  a  question  of  getting 
what  they  want. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  necessity  of  defending  the 
province  of  Champagne  obliging  this  minister  to  aban- 
don thèse  vain  projects  to  do  what  was  most  needful, 
the  Cardinal  made  some  troops  which  were  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Alps  return,  and  gave  their  command  to 
the  Maréchal  du  Plessis.  He  had  served  a  long  time 
and,  wherever  employed,  had  never  been  considered 
other  than  a  good  captain.  It  was  a  necessity  for  him 
that  he  should  not  only  hâve  this  réputation,  but  also 
deserve  it,  to  make  any  head  against  the  Vicomte  de 
Turenne,  who  was  already  in  a  way  to  make  himself 
equally  feared  and  esteemed.  To  thèse  troops  the 
Cardinal  added  the  régiment  of  guards  and,  as  we 
exceeded  the  enemy  in  infantry,  the  Maréchal  du 
Plessis  made  no  difficulties  about  marching  straight 
on  Rhetel  which  it  was  his  design  to  recapture.  The 
Vicomte  de  Turenne  was  too  far  away  to  relieve  it  in 
time,  should  it  be  a  little  pressed  ;  so,  as  the  success 
of  this  undertaking  only  depended  upon  making  haste, 
the  maréchal  entered  upon  it  with  so  much  keenness, 
that  the  siège  was  finished  before  the  Vicomte  de 
Turenne  could  even  hâve  arrived  on  the  heights  of 
Sonpuis.  He  had  abandoned  ail  his  schemes  in  other 
VOL.   II  2 


34  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

quarters  to  corne  to  the  help  of  this  fortress,  and  he 
had  hoped  to  succeed,  because  he  had  with  him  the  best 
cavalry  of  Europe.  In  the  first  place  he  had  with  him 
sixteen  hundred  horse  of  his  own,  which  were  ail  as 
well  equipped  as  the  King's  guards  are  to-day.  The 
men  were  picked  as  well  as  the  horses,  and  besides 
that,  there  were  the  old  troops  who  had  formerly 
fought  under  the  great  Gustave  and  under  the  famous 
Duc  de  Weymar.  As  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  had 
not  as  yet  had  news  that  the  fortress  had  surrendered, 
he  still  continuée!  his  advance  with  the  same  haste  he 
had  employed  since  he  had  set  out  :  however,  on 
reaching  Sonpuis,  he  learnt  not  only  the  fate  of 
the  town,  but  further  that  the  maréchal  was  coming 
to  meet  him,  to  save  the  trouble  of  his  going  to  find 
him.  The  Cardinal,  who  had  received  a  courier  from 
the  maréchal,  thought  that  it  was  of  such  great  im- 
portance that  he  should  be  présent  at  the  battle  for 
which  the  former  was  making  préparation,  that  he  at 
once  took  post-horses  to  join  him.  He  had  previously 
provided  himself  with  ten  thousand  louis  d'or,  which  at 
that  time  was  a  large  sum  for  the  Court.  He  wanted 
to  make  présents  to  the  soldiers  so  as  to  cause  them  to 
fight  more  bravely.  There  is  no  doubt  that  he  must 
hâve  been  very  anxious  to  gain  the  day,  since  he  was 
willing  it  should  cost  him  so  much.  Thus,  to  over- 
come  his  natural  bent  of  mind  was  a  thing  just  as 
remarkable  as  his  good  luck.  Indeed,  ten  thousand 
louis  d'or  were  to  him  as  much  as  ten  millions  to  any- 
one  else,  and  although  they  did  not  corne  out  of  his 
purse,  it  is  certain  that  this  move  must  hâve  cost  him 
a  good  deal  to  make  before  finally  determining  upon  it. 
Eventually,  however,  he  reflected  that  it  would  per- 


MEhfOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  35 

haps  be  the  mcans  of  making  the  Parlement  return 
to  its  duty.  He  feared  this  body  more  than  any  army 
and  could  noteven  hear  it  spoken  of  without  trembling. 
He  was  always  calling  to  mind  the  day  of  the  barri- 
cades, and  as  he  had  observed  that,  for  having  dared 
to  arrest  two  or  three  of  its  members,  a  hundred 
thousand  men  had  immediately  rushed  to  arms,  he 
thought  with  much  reason  that  he  would  never  be  in 
safety  till  he  had  taken  means  either  to  win  it  over, 
or  to  reduce  it  to  such  impotence  that  it  should  no 
longer  be  in  a  position  to  hurt  him. 

No  sooner  did  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  become 
aware  of  the  arrivai  of  the  minister  and  his  intention 
in  coming,  than  he  thought  he  ought  not  to  décline  a 
battle.  He  flattered  himself  that  the  valour  of  his 
cavalry  would  make  up  for  the  faults  of  his  other 
battalions  ;  for  this  reason,  instead  of  drawing  up  his 
troops  in  battle-array,  as  is  usually  done  on  such  an 
occasion,  he  was  satisfied  with  putting  some  squads  of 
infantry  amongst  his  squadrons.  In  this  way  he 
marched  towards  the  enemy,  whom  he  expected  to 
scatter  at  once,  but  the  maréchal,  who  had  posted  his 
foot-soldiers  in  advantageous  places,  and  who  had 
commanded  them  not  to  fire  without  orders,  having 
made  them  fire  their  volleys  in  their  faces  so  to  speak, 
notwithstanding  ail  the  bravery  this  cavalry  possessed, 
so  many  of  them  fell  that  the  remainder  were  totally 
scattered.  The  maréchal  profited  by  this  disorder. 
He  at  once  had  them  charged  by  his  squadrons,  who 
had  not  worn  themselves  out  much  at  the  siège  and 
who  were  fresh  and  vigorous.  This  charge  completed 
the  rout,  and  the  cavalry  having  retreated  at  a  gallop, 
it  was  in  vain  that  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  tried  to 

3~^ 


36  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

rally  them  to  a  charge  ;  he  could  never  do  so,  so  much 
so  that  every  man  having  taken  his  own  line  of  flight, 
he  himself  was  forced  to  do  the  same.  The  maréchal 
detailed  some  squadrons  to  pursue  the  fugitives,  a 
great  many  were  captured  and  the  same  fate  would 
hâve  overtaken  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne,  had  he  not 
been  well  mounted  and  well  acquainted  with  the 
roads.  He  retired  to  Stenai  where  he  only  arrived  on 
the  fourteenth  day.  This  fortress,  which  belonged  to 
M.  le  Prince,  was  holding  out  for  him,  and  had  received 
a  Spanish  garrison,  so  as  to  be  in  a  better  state  to 
défend  itself. 

The  Cardinal,  having  after  this  victory  returned  to 
Paris,  thoiight  that  now  he  onght  to  take  the  Parle- 
ment in  hand  ;  so,  not  thinking  that  it  would  still  be 
in  a  condition  to  lay  down  the  law  to  him,  he  spoke 
very  haughtily  to  some  of  its  niembers,  whom  the 
Queen  had  sent  for  to  the  Palais  Royal  to  reprimand 
for  their  constant  plots.  The  Parlement,  indeed,  had 
been  quite  taken  aback  by  the  late  victory  which  had 
placed  the  Court  above  its  enemies.  At  last,  however, 
having  taken  into  considération  the  fact  that,  should 
it  allow  the  Cardinal  to  completely  crush  M.  le  Prince, 
it  would  perhaps  be  impossible  for  itself  to  afterwards 
resist  him,  it  arranged  to  hâve  a  pétition  presented  to 
itself  by  Madame  la  Princesse,  asking  for  the  libéra- 
tion of  her  husband.  The  mother  of  the  prisoner 
had  already  presented  one  during  the  early  days  of 
his  détention  which  was  to  the  same  effect.  It  had 
however  been  rejected  on  account  of  the  Coadjutor, 
who  was  now  arranging  the  new  one,  being  at  that 
time  on  good  terms  with  the  Cardinal.  As  this 
functionary  then  had  hopes  that  the  latter  would  hâve 


ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  37 

him  given  the  cardinal's  hat  which  he  had  promised 
him  according  to  the  terms  of  their  agreement,  he  had 
taken  good  care  not  to  allow  any  attentions  to  be  paid 
to  it,  but  eventually,  his  Eminence  having  tricked  him 
just  as  cleverly  as  before  he  had  tricked  the  Bishop  of 
Langres,  there  was  no  longer  anything  to  stop  him 
openly  declaring  for  M.  le  Prince,  unless  it  might  be 
fear  lest  désire  of  revenge  for  his  attempted  assassin- 
ation  might  lurk  in  his  mind. 

The  friends  of  M.  le  Prince,  vvho  had  been  constantly 
working  for  him  since  his  arrest,  perceiving  that,  in 
spite  of  the  goodwill  of  the  Parlement,  he  would  find 
it  hard  to  get  out  of  his  présent  quarters,  unless  the 
Coadjutor  should  interest  himself  in  his  case,  held 
counsel  together  to  détermine  how  they  should  proceed 
in  an  affair  of  such  delicacy.  This  prelate  wanted  to 
hâve  assurances  given  him  in  view  of  the  fears  he 
entertained.  This  appeared  to  them  but  just,  so  much 
so,  that  they  themselves  offered  to  go  bail,  that  not 
only  would  M.  le  Prince  never  think  of  the  assassin- 
ation  again  during  his  lifetime,  but  would  further 
become  his  friend.  This  they  told  him,  that  he  might 
be  satisfied  with  their  déclaration  that  ail  the  people 
in  Paris  as  well  as  themselves  were  equally  disabused 
of  the  idea  that  he  had  had  anything  to  do  with  what 
had  occurred  on  the  Pont  Neuf.  Indeed,  for  some 
time  now,  everyone  had  begun  to  perceive  that  ail  this 
had  only  originated  from  the  Cardinal,  and  people 
detested  his  knavery  the  more,  whilst  he  secretly 
continued  to  congratulate  himself  upon  his  plot  having 
turned  out  so  successfuUy. 

The  Coadjutor  was  of  opinion  that  something  was 
to   be   said   for   the   word   of  so    many   honest   men, 


38  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

especially  in  a  matter  which  spoke  for  itself  as  did 
this  one.  In  the  meantime  as,  before  thoroughly 
declaring  himself  for  M.  le  Prince,  he  wanted  to  make 
some  terms  vvith  him,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  would  never  obtain  a  guarantee  of  this  unless  he 
himself  ratified  it.  This  ratification  was,  so  to  speak, 
impossible  in  his  présent  position.  Debas,  who  had 
followed  him  to  Havre,  and  who  was  quite  devoted  to 
his  Eminence,  still  continued  to  keep  an  eye  on  him  ; 
so  carefully  indeed  did  he  do  this,  that  he  was  near 
being  jealous  of  his  shadow.  Clever  and  suspicions  as 
he  was,  he  had  nevertheless  been  several  times  tricked, 
and  even  under  his  own  eyes.  One  of  his  guards,  who 
had  been  bribed,  managed  to  convey  letters  to  M.  le 
Prince  in  a  crown-piece  which  had  been  specially 
scooped  out  on  one  side  and  which  had  been  so 
cleverly  put  together  again  that,  but  for  the  fact  that 
it  did  not  weigh  as  much  as  others,  it  was  exactly  similar 
to  them.  There  would  hâve  been  no  need  for  so  much 
mystery,  had  this  guard  been  able  to  communicate 
with  M.  le  Prince  in  secret,  or  cleverly  give  him  a 
letter  without  anyone  noticing.  However,  Debas 
never  let  his  prisoner  out  of  his  sight,  or,  if  he  did 
leave  him,  his  son,  who  was  his  second  self,  at  once 
took  his  place.  Accordingly,  everything  being  dan- 
gerous  with  a  vigilance  such  as  theirs,  it  had  been 
necessary  to  hâve  recourse  to  this  artifice  to  convey 
information  to  M.  le  Prince  and  obtain  news  of  him. 
This  particular  expédient  had  been  adopted,  because 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  firequently  playing  at  quoits, 
sometimes  with  the  Prince  de  Conti,  sometimes  with 
the  Duc  de  Longueville,  and  sometimes  even  with  the 
younger  Debas;    for,  as  regards  the  father,   far  from 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  39 

having  anything  to  do  with  him,  he  hated  him  so 
bitterly  on  account  of  his  rough  manners,  that  he  had 
ail  the  difficulty  in  the  world  in  putting  up  with  him. 

The  guard  had  been  the  cause  of  the  adoption  of 
this  stratagem,  because,  once  won  over,  he  had  been 
questioned  as  to  how  the  prince  passed  his  time.  The 
man  had  stated  what  I  hâve  just  said,  and  further,  that 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  paying  him  to  pick  up  the 
quoits.  Accordingly,  he  was  instructed  as  to  what  he 
had  to  do,  which  was  that,  when  he  gave  the  scooped 
out  coin  to  the  Prince  de  Condé,  he  should  either 
squeeze  his  hand  or  wink  his  eye  in  a  way  to  make 
him  understand  the  secret.  This  the  guard  did  not 
fail  to  do,  and  the  prince  who  was  clever,  having 
easily  understood  from  the  lightness  of  the  crown- 
piece  that  it  was  destined  for  other  purposes  than  to 
play  quoits  with,  put  it  in  his  pocket  and  took  another 
in  its  place.  By  thèse  means  it  was  hoped  to  give 
him  news  of  what  was  going  on  ;  but,  as  the  agree- 
ment  which  the  Coadjutor  wanted  for  his  own  safety, 
contained  many  paragraphs  and  could  only  be  put  in 
the  crown-piece  in  several  instalments,  it  would  hâve 
been  likely  to  hâve  wasted  a  good  deal  of  time  had  not 
the  death  of  the  Princesse  de  Condé  (the  Dowager) 
smoothed  away  the  difficulty.  Her  death  was  utilised 
to  ask  permission  of  the  Court  to  interview  her  son 
about  the  wili  she  had  made.  This  was  so  natural 
that  the  Cardinal  had  no  suspicions  about  it.  Ail  the 
same,  he  would  hâve  refused,  had  he  not  been  afraid 
that  there  would  be  an  outcry  against  him.  He  knew 
his  conduct  was  being  watched,  and  that  the  least 
thing  which  gave  cause  for  fault-finding  would  not  be 
likely  to  be  forgiven.     Perrault  who,  as  I  fancy  I  hâve 


40  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

said,  had  been  arrested  at  the  same  time  as  his  master, 
but  since  liberated,  was  therefore  allowed  to  go  and 
see  him.  Debas  kept  him  under  strict  observation,  so 
that  he  might  speak  of  nothing  to  him  but  the  object 
of  his  visit  ;  but  as,  however  strict  one  may  be,  it  is 
very  difficult  in  thèse  kind  of  interviews  to  prevent 
oneself  from  being  deceived,  the  président  sHpped  into 
his  master's  hand  a  paper  which  contained  everything 
he  was  wanted  to  know. 

M.  le  Prince  was  so  Httle  unconvinced  about  the 
attempt  at  assassination,  which  he  maintained  the 
Coadjutor  had  tried  to  make  upon  him,  that  he  felt 
quite  an  extraordinary  répugnance  at  granting  what 
was  asked  of  him  for  that  individual.  Nevertheless, 
as  he  saw  nothing  worse  than  prison,  and  as  this  was 
to  procure  him  his  freedom,  he  eventually  consented 
to  it.  One  does  not  know,  in  spite  of  this,  whether  he 
did  so  in  good  faith  and  whether,  even  at  that  time,  he 
did  not  entertain  ideas  of  breaking  his  word. 

Be  this  as  it  ma}^,  having  not  only  signed  this  paper, 
but  having  further  returned  it  to  Perault  in  the  same 
way  as  it  had  been  given  him,  the  Coadjutor  no  sooner 
verified  that  it  was  drawn  up  in  the  manner  he  desired, 
than  he  turned  his  back  on  the  Cardinal.  Up  to  that 
time  he  had  been  careful  with  him.  Although  he  was 
aware  of  his  craftiness,  he  had  not  dared  to  déclare 
himself  without  being  sure  of  M.  le  Prince.  Otherwise 
he  was  afraid  of  the  Cardinal's  becoming  reconciled 
with  him  to  his  own  ruin,  and  that  he  would  be  left 
without  any  support  or  prop  between  two  enemies  of 
such  a  formidable  kind.  Being  at  last  guaranteed 
against  this  danger,  he  employed  ail  his  endeavours 
with   the   Parlement    to  try   and   obtain  from   it   the 


ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  41 

exile  of  the  one  and  the  freedom  of  the  other.  His 
idea  was  to  raise  himself  on  the  ruins  of  the  Cardinal's 
fortunes  and,  as  M.  le  Prince  had  bound  himself  by  a 
clause  of  this  agreement  to  grant  him  his  protection  to 
make  him  succeed  in  this  undertaking,  he  reckoned  that 
his  success  would  be  a  certainty. 


II 


rHILE  ail  this  was  going  on,  the  Duc 
d'Orléans,  whose  place  it  was  to  play  the 
chief  part  in  the  State,  had  allowed  him- 
self  to  be  trifled  with  by  the  Cardinal  to 
such  an  extent,  that  one  might  say  that 
in  the  latter's  hands  he  had  completely  divested 
himself  of  his  authority.  He  let  himself  be  ruled 
sometimes  by  ail  the  world,  and  sometimes  by  his  wife, 
who  had  not  the  sensé  to  see  that  ail  the  people  whom 
she  permitted  to  approach  her  only  gave  their  advice 
with  the  intention  of  deceiving  both  herself  and  her 
husband.  She  was  a  sister  of  the  Duc  de  Lorraine, 
and  he  had  married  her  against  the  wishes  of  the  late 
King,  who  had  not  only  had  his  marriage  declared 
void  by  a  decree  of  the  Parlement,  but  who  further, 
as  long  as  he  lived,  had  never  consented  to  relent  in 
the  matter.  For  this  reason  they  had  for  several  years 
been  separated  from  one  another,  and  it  had  only  been 
since  his  Majesty's  death  that  the  présent  King  had 
consented  to  their  coming  together.  This  princess 
had  ail  her  features  excellently  moulded,  so  that,  if 
looked  at  in  détail,  she  was  a  very  beautiful  woman. 


ME  MOI  R  s   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  43 

but,  taking  her  altogether,  hers  was  at  most  a  waning 
beauty  and  one  devoid  of  ail  the  charms  vvhich  vivacity 
bestows  ;  the  only  spark  of  it  she  showed  in  her  life  was 
in  being  ambitious  beyond  anything  one  can  imagine. 
Accordingly,  although  she  had  not  the  intelligence  to 
be  troublesome,  she  had  not  been  sorry  to  see  disorders 
arising  in  the  State,  so  that  she  might  keep  up  her 
position  without  being  obliged  to  draw  ail  her  claims 
to  considération  from  the  Court.  She  could  not  in 
particular  bear  the  Queen-mother,  not  that  she  found 
anything  in  that  princess  unworthy  of  esteem,  but 
because  her  station  was  above  her  own.  She  was  also 
none  too  fond  of  M.  le  Prince,  especially  since  the 
insuit  he  had  put  upon  the  Exempt  of  Guards  of  her 
husband.  The  Cardinal,  who  tried  to  make  everything 
serve  his  ends,  and  who  would  hâve  been  well  pleased 
to  see  jealousy  prevailing  between  thèse  two  familles, 
had  cleverly  had  it  hinted  to  her  that  M.  le  Prince  was 
devoured  by  ambition,  and  that,  in  conséquence,  he 
wanted  not  only  to  raise  himself  above  the  duc  her 
husband,  but  also  despised  him  so  much  that  he 
appeared  to  hâve  forgotten  the  différence  there  was 
between  a  son,  a  brother  and  uncle  of  the  King,  and 
a  first  prince  of  the  blood. 

The  little  sensé,  which  she  possessed  by  nature,  had 
not  enabled  her  to  find  in  herself  any  of  the  qualities  to 
withstand  this  deceit,  and  she  had  blunderingly  fallen 
into  the  trap,  the  more  so  because,  during  the  time  of 
the  victories  of  M.  le  Prince,  his  Court  was  usually  so 
large  as  to  hâve  put  her  husband's  to  shame.  The 
Coadjutor,  who  had  himself  been  a  witness  on  a 
thousand  occasions  of  the  ideas  of  this  princess,  and 
who  knew  that,  the  better  to  succeed  in  his  designs, 


44  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

he  ought  to  win  the  duc  over,  thought  that,  far  from 
availing  himself  of  her  as  a  channel  to  success,  he 
must  hide  everything  from  her  with  great  care,  if  he 
wished  to  lead  matters  to  a  happy  issue.  Accordingly, 
he  made  the  duc  promise  to  tell  her  nothing  about 
what  he  wanted  to  discuss  with  him,  and  then  no 
longer  abstained  from  opening  his  heart.  The  duc, 
like  himself,  had  friends  in  the  Parlement;  the  respect 
paid  to  his  birth  attracted  some,  and  besides  this,  ail 
the  others  were  well  pleased  to  hâve  him  at  their  head, 
because  they  flattered  themselves  that  his  shadow 
guarded  them  against  the  reproach  which  some  people 
levelled  at  them  "  of  undertaking  things  beyond  their 
powers."  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Duc  d'Orléans,  who 
had  had  a  share  in  the  imprisonment  of  M.  le  Prince, 
was  now  disposed  to  obtain  him  his  liberty,  for  he 
allowed  himself  to  be  swayed  by  every  breeze.  He 
joined  with  the  Parlement  and  with  the  Coadjutor  for 
the  carrying  out  of  this  undertaking.  Not  only  did  the 
Parlement  reply  to  the  request  of  Madame  la  Princesse, 
but  further,  it  decreed  that  représentations  should  be 
made  to  the  King  and  to  the  Queen  with  a  view  to 
obtaining  the  libération  of  her  husband.  Her  Majesty, 
who,  although  devoid  of  ail  that  cleverness  which  is 
said  to  exist  in  some  women,  yet  had  a  courage  beyond 
her  sex,  thought  that  the  Parlement  was  arrogating 
to  itself  an  authority  which  was  not  its  right.  She 
sternly  reproved  it  for  meddling  with  a  matter  of 
this  kind,  and  declared  in  formai  terms  that  such  a 
thing  was  beyond  its  powers,  adding  that  a  day  would 
perhaps  come  when  it  might  repent  of  its  action.  She 
also  told  its  delegates  that  it  was  not  the  business  of 
the  Parlement  to  mix  itself  up  in  State  secrets,  and 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  45 

that,  by  acting  in  such  a  way,  it  wished  apparently  to 
follow  the  example  of  England,  which,  after  having 
driven  its  King  from  his  capital,  had  further  in- 
humanely  murdered  him.  The  Parlement  was  shocked 
at  this  comparison  ;  so,  matters  becoming  more  and 
more  strained,  his  Eminence  began  to  fear  that  he 
might  soon  be  obliged  to  withdraw  into  Italy.  Indeed, 
the  Parlement  of  Paris  had  not  been  alone  in  declaring 
itself  for  the  Prince  de  Condé,  that  of  Bordeaux  had 
done  just  the  same,  and  although  the  Cardinal  had 
appeared  to  hâve  quelled  this  storm  by  taking  the  King 
there,  it  was  a  long  way  from  being  entirely  calmed 
down.  This  province  still  supported  the  prince,  and 
as  it  never  loses  an  opportunity,  as  I  hâve  already 
said,  of  revolting,  but  welcomes  it  with  ail  its  heart, 
the  minister  was  afraid  of  the  two  Parlements  uniting. 
He  foresaw  that,  should  such  a  thing  happen,  there 
were  yet  others  who  might  perhaps  do  the  same  thing, 
especially  as  there  was  hardly  a  single  province  which 
was  not  discontented  with  his  ministry.  Besides,  the 
Comte  de  Grancé  had  retired  to  his  government  of 
Gravelines,  apparently  quite  ready  to  form  a  party  on 
the  grounds  that,  after  the  battle  of  Rhetel,  some 
Maréchaux  de  France  had  been  created  and  he  had 
been  left  out.  He  claimed  to  be  as  worthy  of  this 
honour  as  others,  and  wanted  to  obtain  by  force  that 
which  had  not  been  given  with  a  good  grâce. 

As  thèse  were  times  when  those  who  knew  how  to 
make  themselves  feared  got  everything  they  liked,  he 
was  considered  to  be  in  the  right.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
this  would  not  hâve  much  embarrassed  the  Cardinal, 
had  this  been  the  only  affair  on  his  hands  ;  he  knew 
of  a  remedy,  which  was  to  grant  the  comte  what  he 


46  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

asked  for  !  But  it  was  not  the  same  thing  with  regard 
to  other  people,  since  it  was  his  own  place  which 
they  wanted,  and  he  was  in  no  mood  to  give  it  up. 
This  caused  hini  to  take  every  kind  of  means  to  appease 
the  Parlement,  but  as  he  must  hâve  owned  the  riches 
of  a  Croesus  to  satisfy  ail  its  members,  not  one  of 
whom  did  not  want  to  be  bought  at  a  very  high  price, 
the  storm  which  had  been  brewing  against  him  for  so 
long  began  to  threaten  him  in  such  a  menacing  way 
that  he  deemed  himself  forced  to  yield  ;  so,  making  a 
virtue  of  necessity,  he  left  the  Court  and  went  to 
Havre  de  Grâce,  to  comply  with  a  decree  of  this 
corporation,  which  declared  that  the  Prince  de  Condé 
and  the  two  other  prisoners  should  be  set  at  liberty. 
Some  other  decrees  had  also  been  directed  against  him, 
and  being  anxious  to  avoid  dealing  with  them  as  they 
did  not  suit  him  at  ail,  he  left  the  kingdom,  after 
having  protested  to  the  prince  that  it  was  not  he  who 
had  been  the  cause  of  his  misfortunes.  The  Prince  de 
Condé  thought  what  he  liked  about  this,  and  having 
seen  him  leave  without  regret,  he  returned  to  Paris, 
out  of  which  city  a  great  number  of  people  came  to 
meet  him.  He  would  hâve  been  surprised  had  he 
known  with  what  joy  they  had  received  the  news  of 
his  imprisonment,  but  as  no  one  had  as  yet  taken  the 
trouble  to  enlighten  him  on  the  subject,  he  received 
the  proofs  of  their  goodwill  with  pleasure,  for  he 
flattered  himself  that  this  was  a  répétition  of  those 
which  they  had  shown  him  when  his  great  deeds  and 
repeated  victories  had  rendered  him  celebrated 
throughout  the  kingdom. 

The   Queen,   who   had    studied   enough    under    the 
Cardinal  to  know  that   one  must  dissimulate,  if  one 


ME  HOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  47 

wanted  to  make  oneself  worthy  of  the  place  she 
occupied,  bestowed  a  thousand  caresses  upon  the 
prince,  although  at  heart  in  despair  at  his  return 
and  at  the  departure  of  the  Cardinal.  Besmaux 
followed  him  to  Breûil,  a  pleasure-house  of  the 
Elector  of  Cologne,  to  which  he  retired,  and  his 
Eminence  proceeded  to  Sedan.  On  his  way  there, 
Fabert  lent  him  I  do  not  know  how  much  money 
which  was  not  his  own.  His  friends  had  given  it  him 
to  keep,  and  as  it  was  a  considérable  sum  and  the 
disposai  of  a  deposit  is  never  allowed,  this  loan,  made 
as  it  was  against  ail  forms  and  even  with  much  péril, 
injured  his  réputation  a  good  deal.  Who  could  affirm 
indeed  that  this  Minister  was  ever  to  return  to  Court, 
he  whom  the  Parlement  had  proscribed  in  a  decree 
and  who  saw  ail  the  princes  of  the  blood  arrayed 
against  him  !  Accordingly,  people  did  not  fail  to  say, 
when  they  heard  how  Fabert  had  treated  him,  and 
when  it  was  évident  from  what  afterwards  occurred 
that  he  had  no  reason  to  regret  what  he  had  done, 
that  he  must  hâve  been  a  magician  to  hâve  carried 
out  such  a  stroke  as  this  ! 

While  the  Cardinal  was  at  Breûil,  he  was  accurately 
informed  of  everything  which  was  going  on  at  Court 
by  the  Queen  herself,  who  was  dying  of  désire  to  make 
him  return.  She  deemed  that  her  pride  was  concerned, 
and  that  to  yield  in  this  sort  of  way  to  a  body  of 
rebels,  was  to  make  a  breach  in  her  authority.  The 
Prince  de  Condé,  who  was  yet  young  and  a  lover  of 
pleasure,  spent  the  first  days  of  his  return  in  de- 
bauchery  and  without  thinking  too  much  of  what  he 
had  to  do.  He  deemed  his  victory  complète  since  his 
enemy  had  abandoned  his  position,  and,  without  fore- 


48  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

seeing  what  might  happen,  he  began  to  despise  every- 
body.  He  hardly  looked  at  those  who  had  taken  up 
arms  against  their  sovereign  to  get  him  out  of  prison  ! 
The  Vicomte  de  Turenne  was  of  this  number  and  even 
so  to  speak  the  chief  one,  he  who  had  dared  give 
battle  for  his  sake  !  Consequently,  he  was  overcome 
with  sorrow  at  the  ingratitude  of  the  prince  and  in- 
wardly  swore  never  again  to  relapse  into  the  same 
mistake  he  had  just  committed  on  account  of  being 
so  badly  rewarded  by  him.  M.  le  Prince  found  a 
good  deal  to  regret  in  his  own  behaviour  when,  some 
time  after,  he  threatened  to  take  up  arms  against  his 
King. 

It  is  not  known,  to  speak  the  truth,  what  really 
urged  him  to  commit  such  a  great  fault  against  his 
sovereign,  nnless  it  was  that  he  saw  the  King's  com- 
ing  of  âge  drawing  near,  and  was  afraid  that  after 
that  time  the  Queen  would  make  the  Cardinal  return. 
As  this  minister  was  not  more  than  a  hundred  leagues 
from  Paris,  and  it  was  notorious  that  her  Majesty  was 
continually  sending  him  couriers,  he  on  that  account 
thought  that  his  Eminence  still  had  just  as  much 
power  over  her  as  formerly.  Besides,  he  observed  that 
in  his  absence  the  Queen  only  consulted  Servient,  De 
Lionne  and  Le  Tellier,  three  of  his  créatures,  on  ail 
matters  of  importance,  a  fact  which  greatly  displeased 
him.  The  Prince  de  Condé  had  returned  from  prison 
with  the  idea  of  acting  as  régent  in  the  Council,  and 
that  nothing  should  happen  except  according  to  his 
wishes.  He  found  himself  far  from  such  a  thing,  and 
being  born  with  great  ambition  and  more  fit  to 
command  than  to  obey,  he  sought  for  means  of 
satisfying    himself.      Ail    the    same,    he   did    not    at 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 


49 


first  show  any  signs  of  what  he  was  thinking  about, 
and  modelling  himself  upon  the  example  of  the  Queen, 
who,  the  better  to  deceive  him,  looked  kindly  at  him, 
he  paid  her  his  respects  with  ail  the  marks  of  sub- 
mission and  obédience  which  she  could  désire  from  a 
subject.  However,  after  both  had  been  dissimulating 
for  some  time,  the  Queen,  on  the  advice  of  the  Cardinal, 
formed  the  idea  of  having  the  prince  arrested  again. 
This  De  Lionne  and  Le  Tellier  formally  opposed  on 
the  ground  that  it  would  reunite  the  party  of  the 
prince  with  that  of  the  Coadjutor.  Already  they  had 
begun  to  quarrel  afresh,  not  that  the  prince  was  not 
totally  disabused  of  the  idea  he  had  formerly  held  as 
to  the  Coadjutor  having  wanted  to  assassinate  him, 
but  because  he  had  corne  to  the  conclusion  that, 
should  he  carry  out  the  agreement  by  virtue  of  which 
he  had  emerged  from  prison,  far  from  obtaining  the 
authority  in  the  Council  to  which  he  aspired,  he  would 
but  be  changing  masters.  The  idea  of  the  Coadjutor 
was,  as  I  hâve  already  said,  to  take  Mazarin's  place, 
and  as  he  had  secret  and  powerful  bonds  with  the 
Duchesse  de  Chevreuse,  the  Prince  de  Condé,  who 
was  of  a  haughty  spirit  and  who  did  not  let  himself 
be  easily  governed,  was  afraid  that  not  only  would 
he  be  obliged  to  bend  to  his  will,  but  to  hers  as 
well.  They  had  by  their  influence  already  made 
one  Garde  des  Sceaux  :  this  was  the  Marquis  de 
Châteauneuf.  They  further  expected  to  fiU  the  most 
important  posts  with  their  créatures  without  letting 
him  hâve  much  share  :  so,  being  anxious  to  deliver 
himself  from  this  new  slavery,  which  was  in  no  way 
to  his  taste,  he  made  use  of  the  Prince  de  Conti 
to  succeed   in  his  designs.      The  latter,  by  a  clause 

VOL.   II  4 


50  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

of  their   agreement,   was   to    marry    Mademoiselle   de 
Chevreuse,    who    was    a    well    enough    made    young 
princess  and  capable  of  rendering  his  life  more  pleasant 
than  it  had  up  to  that  time  been.     Consequently,  he 
was  more   in  love  with   her  than  with   his  breviary, 
which  he  had   never  caressed  too  much.      His  great 
ardour   had    displeased    his   brother   who,    on   leaving 
prison,  had  dreamt  of  breaking  off  this  marriage,  and 
the  agreement  he  had  made,  at  the  same  time.     He 
had   told   him    his    idea   without    as    yet    telling   him 
anything  about  his  plans.     He  had  pointed  out  that 
princes  ought  to  make  love  in  a  différent  way  from 
common  people,  and  that,  even  were  this  not  the  case, 
he   ought   to  keep  within  bounds  more  than  anyone 
else,  since  he  had  always  been  one  of  the  cloth,  and 
consequently,  people  could  not  see  him  suddenly  pass 
from   such    a   high   position   to    such    great  weakness 
without  being  quite  scandalized.    The  Prince  de  Conti, 
who  wore  underneath  his  cassock  the  same  passions 
which  others  wear  under  a  cuirass  or  a  shoulder-belt, 
scoffed  at  his  advice,  or  at  least,  if  not  jeering  openly, 
he  did  not   fail   to  treat   his  mistress  just  the  same 
as  usual.     The  Prince  de  Condé  was  quite  indignant 
with  him,  and,  as  he  wanted  his  brother,  like  other 
people,  to  yield  to  his  wishes,  he  began  to  adopt  a 
tone  towards  him  différent  from  the  one  he  had  up  to 
that  time  employed.     He  began  to  make  a  thousand 
jokes  to  him  about  his  mistress,  and,  finding  nothing 
in    her    personal    appearance    to    take    hold    of,    he 
taxed   her  with  bad   behaviour.     As  her  mother  had 
private   friends,  of  whose  advice   she  availed    herself 
in  the  great  plans  which  she  was  contemplating,  he 
accused    the    daughter    of   making    use    of   them    for 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  51 

other  purposes  than  her  mother  did.  He  gave  him  to 
understand  that  the  Coadjutor,the  Marquis  de  Laicques 
and  Caumartin,  on  leaving  the  duchess's  room,  were 
wont  to  enter  that  of  his  mistress.  She  had,  he  said, 
a  "  large  appetite,"  so  much  so  that,  if  he  vvanted  the 
leavings  of  thèse  three  persons,  he  had  but  to  take  her 
as  his  wife.  The  Prince  de  Conti,  head  over  ears 
as  he  was  in  love,  swallowed  this  slander  as  truth. 
Accordingly,  without  going  into  things  further,  he 
became  so  disgusted  that  he  broke  off  with  his 
betrothed.  The  Coadjutor  had  a  shrewd  suspicion  that 
this  blow  came  rather  from  the  elder  brother  than 
from  the  younger  one,  but,  as  he  was  not  yet  quite 
sure  of  this,  he  thought  it  better  not  to  break  with  him 
entirely.  He  wanted  first  of  ail  to  thoroughiy  clear  up 
his  suspicions,  hoping  that,  if  it  was  only  jealousy 
which  had  made  the  Prince  de  Conti  act  in  this  way, 
it  would  not  be  difficult  to  cure  him  of  it.  Matters 
being  in  this  state,  the  advice  of  M.  de  Lionne  and 
Le  Tellier,  at  the  moment  when  the  Queen  and  the 
Cardinal  had  conceived  the  idea  of  again  laying  hands 
on  the  person  of  the  Prince  de  Condé,  did  not  seem 
ill-timed  either  to  her  Majesty  or  her  minister.  Both 
accordingly  resolved  to  delay  its  exécution  until  such 
time  as  the  Coadjutor  shall  hâve  no  further  grounds 
for  suspecting  the  truth  of  the  arrest.  Meantime,  they 
instructed  both  men  to  delay  at  least  till  he  heard  of  it. 
They  reckoned  that,  this  once  done,  not  only  would 
there  be  no  appearance  of  a  reconciliation  having  taken 
place,  but  further,  that  it  would  be  easy  for  them  to 
gain  the  Coadjutor  over  to  their  interests.  De  Lionne 
and  Le  Tellier  were  two  men  of  very  différent  character  ; 

4—2 


5â  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAfJ 

one  was  ail  mystery,  the  other  straightforward  enough, 
although  he  occupied  a  position  in  which  persons 
endowed  from  birth  with  sincerity  soon  lose  it.  The 
two  men  accordingly  behaved  very  differently  in  the 
mission  confided  to  them  ;  one  made  useof  very  round- 
about  methods  to  gain  his  ends,  the  other  went  straight 
to  the  point  without  troubling  to  make  such  a  fuss 
about  it.  He  sent  one  of  his  clerks  to  tell  the  Coad- 
jutor  that  he  would  very  much  like  to  speak  to  him, 
and  so,  if  he  would  appoint  a  meeting-place,  would 
be  there  for  certain.  The  prelate  was  quite  willing, 
and,  having  informed  M.  de  Lionne,  went  to  the 
**  Chartreux."  They  met  at  a  certain  monk's,  whose 
name  was  Dom  Julliot.  Both  came  incognito,  and, 
although  M.  de  Lionne  was  ready  enough  to  form  a 
bad  opinion  of  ladies'  virtue  (since  he  possessed  one 
at  home  who  gave  him  no  cause  for  happiness)  he 
began  to  laud  the  virtue  of  Mdlle.  de  Chevreuse  to  the 
skies,  so  as  to  increase  the  irritation  felt  by  the 
Coadjutor  at  M.  le  Prince's  having  availed  himself 
of  this  pretext  to  break  with  him.  Further,  having 
prepared  his  mind  to  listen  to  him  the  more  readily, 
he  declared  that,  if  he  were  willing  to  effect  a  recon- 
ciliation with  M.  le  Cardinal  and  lead  the  Parlement 
to  no  longer  oppose  his  return,  he  should  be  given  ail 
the  assurances  he  might  reasonably  désire  of  being 
invested  with  the  purple  the  first  time  the  Pope  should 
make  any  cardinals.  Such  a  proposition  was  attack- 
ing  him  in  his  weak  quarter  !  He,  the  Coadjutor, 
wanted,  at  ail  hazards,  to  become  a  cardinal,  and  as 
he  could  no  longer  hope  to  be  Prime  Minister,  now 
that  he  no  more  had  the  Princesse  de  Condé  to  help 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  53 

him,  lie  promised  M.  de  Lionne  to  do  everythinj;  in 
the  matter  which  the  Queen  wished.  Nevertheless, 
before  binding  himself  to  anything,  he  was  anxious 
that  her  Majesty  herself  should  ratify  the  promise  she 
was  now  making.  This  interview  lasted  a  good  three 
hours,  since  they  could  not  see  each  other  again  after- 
vvards  without  risking  being  recognised,  and  were 
desirous  of  settling  everything  at  one  single  sitting. 
The  Queen  confirmed  with  her  own  lips  to  the  Co- 
adjutor  what  De  Lionne  had  told  him  on  her  behalf, 
and  having  agreed  together  to  keep  the  matter  secret, 
the  prelate  was  no  sooner  reassured  in  this  quarter 
than  he  broke  with  M.  le  Prince  in  the  most  open 
manner  possible.  He  loudly  complained  that  he  was 
not  a  prince  of  his  word,  and  that,  even  had  he 
performed  greater  deeds  than  he  had  done,  this  defect 
totally  wiped  them  out. 

M.  le  Prince  was  too  clever  not  to  see  that  the 
Coadjutor  must  be  certain  of  powerful  protection  to 
break  with  him  so  openly.  He  at  once  concluded 
that  it  must  be  the  Queen's,  and  as  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  hold  out  against  both  influences,  if  he  did 
not  also  lean  upon  some  person  who  could  balance 
their  action,  he  paid  his  court  to  the  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Duc  d'Orléans,^  who  was  a  princess  more  fit 
to  wear  a  soldier's  tunic  than  a  skirt.  She  had  high 
aspirations,  although  at  heart  possessing  a  violent 
désire  to  be  married.  For  some  time  past  she  had 
been  old  enough  for  this,  being  on  the  point  of  passing 
the  âge  of  twenty-four,  but,  though  she  was  then  a 

I  La  Grande  Mademoiselle,  the  Duchesse  de  Montpensier, 
horn  in  1627,  died  1693. 


54  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

very  beautiful  princess  and  the  richest  in  Europe,  the 
minister  (Mazarin)  had  not  chosen  to  give  her  to  the 
numerous  foreign  princes  who  would  hâve  much  Hked 
to  take  her.  The  Court  did  not  wish  her  to  carry 
them  her  fourteen  or  fifteen  milHons,  and  this  sum 
(to  which  her  property  amounted)  seemed  sufficiently 
large  to  be  reserved  for  its  own  use.  M.  le  Prince, 
who  knew  her  désire  and  the  obstacles  in  its  path, 
adroitly  made  use  of  this  state  of  affairs  to  win  her 
over  to  his  interests.  He  was  aware  that  she  possessed 
great  influence  over  the  mind  of  her  father,  and  that 
if  she  undertook  to  gain  him  over  to  his  side,  she 
would  be  more  likely  to  succeed  than  anyone  else. 
In  order  to  make  her  serve  him  the  more  willingly,  he 
proposed  the  Duc  d'Anguien,  his  only  son,  as  her 
future  husband.  Nevertheless  this  offer  was  not  one 
to  tempt  her.  A  child  of  seven  or  eight  years  old, 
such  as  he,  was  not  the  thing  for  a  beautiful  princess 
in  the  full  strength  of  her  desires  !  However,  as  she 
foresaw  that  the  same  difficulty  which  had  up  to  that 
time  prevented  her  from  being  married  would  continue 
to  exist,  and  that  thus  she  would  remain  a  spinister 
for  ever,  she  preferred  to  hope  that  she  might  one  day 
hâve  this  young  duc  for  a  husband  to  the  prospect 
of  having  none  at  ail.  She  knew  that  he  would  grow 
bigger  as  time  went  on,  and  calculated  that,  although 
she  must  then  be  of  a  very  disproportionate  âge  to 
him,  her  great  riches  would  take  the  place  of  merit, 
even  if  the  years  which  would  hâve  elapsed  between 
then  and  now  would  hâve  effaced  from  her  counten- 
ance  the  flower  of  beauty  which  was  there  at  présent. 
Indeed,  this  princess  took  such  a  fancy  to  the  marriage 
that  she  became  the  advocate  of  M.  le  Prince  with  her 
father. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  55 

It  was  impossible,  with  so  many  plots  on  foot,  that 
the  populace  should  not  be  carried  away  to  commit 
some  act  of  rébellion.  It  is  an  essential  quality  of 
setting  a  bad  example,  that  it  corrupts  those  who  hâve 
the  least  leaning  that  way;  so  the  Parisians,  perceiving 
that  they  were  ground  down  by  taxes,  and  that  the 
princes  of  the  blood,  who  are  usually  the  support  of 
the  State,  were  so  at  variance  with  the  Queen  as  to 
give  every  appearance  of  seconding  them,  if  they  forgot 
their  duty,  proceeded  to  beat  the  clerks  who  raised 
thèse  taxes.  They  even  threw  one  or  two  into  the 
river  Seine,  which  threw  them  into  such  terror  that 
most  of  them  abandoned  their  offices. 

The  King  only  entered  Blois  after  having  made  a 
treaty  with  that  town,  which  detained  him  for  at  least 
two  or  three  days.  He  had  even  more  trouble  in 
treating  with  the  city  of  Orléans,  which  would  not  open 
its  gâtes  to  him  at  ail.  While  going  through  this  part 
of  the  country  I  sought  news  of  Rosnai,^  whose  evil 
behaviour  yet  lay  heavy  on  my  soûl.  Although  several 
years  had  aleady  elapsed  since  his  insuit  to  me,  I  had 
not  yet  forgotten  it — on  the  contrary,  I  was  resolved 
to  be  revenged  the  moment  I  could;  however,  what  I 
discovered  was  not  of  a  nature  to  please  me.  I  found 
that  he  had  shown  himself  there  but  from  time  to 
time,  and  like  a  man  who  had  ail  the  "Archers"  of 
the  province  at  his  heels.  This  made  me  ask  those 
who  told  it  me,  if  he  was  involved  in  any  trouble  ? 
They  replied  that  they  knew  of  none,  saving  that 
he  had  once  had  a  misunderstanding  with  a  passing 
stranger.  The  report  was  current  that  this  was  the 
cause  of  his  absenting  himself,  because  this  stranger, 

1   See  Vol.  I.,  p.  6. 


56  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

who  was  then  but  a  youth,  was  considered  by  him  and 
ail  the  country  people  as  a  fellow  who  sooner  or  later 
would  do  him  a  bad  turn. 

By  this  I  understood  that  this  stranger  was  no  other 
than  myself,  and  on  my  afterwards  asking  for  news 
of  Montigré,  the  people  answered  that  he  had  gone  to 
Toulouse,  to  conduct  a  lawsuit  against  Rosnai;  that 
they  had  been  engaged  in  litigation  since  I  do  not  know 
how  long,  and  that  a  certain  décision  of  Messieurs  les 
Maréchaux  de  France,  which  had  intervened  between 
them,  had  not  been  able  to  terminate  their  disputes. 
There  was  a  fear  of  Montigré's  getting  the  worst  of 
this  lawsuit,  as  he  was  an  honest  man,  and  were  this 
to  happen,  he  would  be  irretrievably  ruined.  The 
latter  had  helped  me  too  kindly  for  me  not  to  feel 
solicitons  about  his  affairs.  I  at  once  wrote  to  him 
to  offer  him  friends  in  that  part  of  the  country  as 
well  as  money.  At  the  same  time,  I  enquired  if 
Rosnai  had  put  in  an  appearance  to  plead  against 
him.  I  was  resolved  to  travel  post  according  to  his 
answer,  directly  my  duties  would  allow,  but  the  news 
I  received  from  him  saved  me  that  trouble.  He  sent 
me  word,  that  he  saw  him  no  more  than  he  did  a 
"werewolf,"  nor  could  he  tell  me  what  part  of  the 
world  he  inhabited,  but,  for  the  sake  of  his  own  peace, 
he  would  bave  wished  that  I  should  hâve  divested 
his  enemy  of  the  désire  of  pleading,  as  well  as  of  that 
of  showing  himself  amongst  honest  folk.  I  admired 
the  strength  of  fear  and  what  it  was  able  to  do. 
Meanwhile,  as  I  always  kept  myself  posted  as  to 
the  doings  of  this  "  screech-owl  "  who,  as  it  seemed, 
loved  only  darkness,  I  learnt  some  five  or  six  months 
later,  that    not   only    had   he  won    his   suit,  but  that 


MEMOIRS    OF  D'ARTAGNAN  57 

Montigré,  who  had  been  cast  in  more  than  ten  thousand 
crowns  damages  and  costs,  had  immediately  died  of 
grief. 

I  lamented  him,  as  was  right,  after  what  he  had 
done  for  me,  but,  as  there  was  no  remedy  for  what 
had  befallen  him,  I  contented  myself  with  praying 
to  God  for  him  and  having  some  masses  said  for 
his  soûl. 

The  Cardinal  still  continued  to  désire  to  make 
one  of  his  nephews  captain-lieutenant  of  the  King's 
Musketeers.  He  had  only  had  that  company  broken 
up  with  this  end  in  view,  hoping  that,  when  it 
should  no  longer  exist,  Treville  would  show  himself 
more  tractable  than  before.  He  had  secretly  had  him 
informed  about  this,  and  had  not  concealed  from  him 
that,  if  he  did  not  arrange  matters  with  him,  he  must 
never  expect  to  see  it  re-established.  Treville,  who  was 
as  proud  in  misfortune  as  in  prosperity,  had  not  been 
alarmed  at  thèse  threats,  and  had  replied  to  those 
who  spoke  for  the  Cardinal,  that,  as  long  as  the  King 
might  please  to  dispense  with  his  Musketeers,  he  would 
remain  at  Court  without  employment,  but  that,  should 
a  wish  seize  his  Majesty  to  again  set  them  on  foot, 
he  hoped  he  would  do  him  the  justice  to  give  him 
back  the  company,  which  he  did  not  think  he  had 
lost  from  ever  having  failed  in  his  duty.  This  reply 
had  disconcerted  the  Cardinal  and  as,  when  once  he 
wanted  anything,  he  did  not  soon  yield,  he  caused 
a  number  of  propositions  to  be  made  him,  which 
appeared  advantageous,  so  as  to  get  him  to  abandon 
his  claims.  Treville,  who  was  not  a  man  like  anyone 
else,  would  not  listen  to  them.  His  Eminence  became 
incensed  against  him,  and  as  he  had  the  tendency  of 


58  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

which  his  country  is  accused,  and  had  not  yet  lost 
it  since  he  had  been  in  France — that  is  to  say,  love 
of  revenge,  he  did  ail  he  could  to  get  him  to  take 
some  false  step.  The  moment  v^as  very  opportune. 
Treville  had  a  brother-in-law  in  the  Parlement,  and 
had  he  not  been  as  attached  as  he  was  to  the  King's 
service,  the  rebels  would  hâve  made  him  a  good  offer 
to  secure  a  man  of  his  worth.  However,  as  his 
fidelity  was  above  being  shaken  by  ail  the  ill-treatment 
which  could  be  bestowed  upon  him,  he  remained 
firmly  attached  to  his  duty.  This  did  not  cause  the 
Cardinal  to  give  way,  and  being  aware  that  men,  no 
less  faithful  than  he,  were  often  passed  off  as  traitors, 
especially  when  one  possessed  the  cleverness  to  tinge 
one's  suspicions  with  some  show  of  truth,  he  tried  to 
insinuate  to  the  Queen  that  Treville  was  dabbling 
in  the  rébellion  of  the  Parlement.  He  even  told 
her  that  he  knew  for  certain  that  he  was  about  not 
only  to  join  the  rebels  before  long,  but  further  to 
cause  part  of  the  régiment  of  guards  to  pass  over 
to  their  side  by  means  of  his  brother-in-law.  He 
added,  that  there  was  no  other  way  of  stopping  this 
than  by  seizing  their  persons,  nor  must  a  minute  be 
lost;  for,  should  one  of  them  hear  the  least  rumour 
that  they  were  suspected,  they  might  not  only  secure 
themselves  against  the  punishment  they  deserved,  but 
further  take  measures  which  might  be  prejudicial  to 
the  State. 

The  Queen  did  not  always  do  ail  the  Cardinal 
wished — a  long  way  from  it.  Accordingly,  far  from 
resembling  the  late  King,  who  had  exiled  him  some 
days  before  Cardinal  Richelieu's  death,  to  content 
that  minister,  and  who  had  not,  so  to  speak,  dared  to 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  59 

makc  him  return  before  his  eyes  were  closed,  she  took 
quite  another  course.  She  answered  that  she  knew 
Treville  too  well  ever  to  suspect  him  of  treachery,  that 
he  was  proud,  sometimes  even  more  so  than  was  right 
(since  one  should  learn,  when  once  at  Court,  to  bend  to 
the  powers  that  be)  ;  however,  although  she  perceived 
this  defect  in  him,  she  would  never  do  him  the  injustice 
of  beHeving  him  guilty  of  what  the  Cardinal  was  now 
trying  to  persuade  her.  His  Eminence,  who  perceived 
himself,  as  it  were,  thus  accused  of  slander,  wanted  to 
justify  himself,  and,  not  being  able  to  do  so  except  by 
continuing  to  insist  that  he  was  guilty,  and  that  his 
information  came  from  such  a  good  source  that  it  was 
impossible  to  suspect  it,  the  Queen  could  not  refrain 
from  replying  that  he  himself  did  not  believe  what  he 
was  saying,  but  was  well  pleased  that  others  should 
believe  it,  to  satisfy  his  spite.  She  said  that  she  had 
now  for  some  time  observed  that  he  had  inherited  this 
from  Cardinal  Richelieu  ;  that  he  disliked  Treville, 
and  she  had  not  a  very  good  idea  of  what  the  reason 
might  be  ;  however,  this  dislike  seemed  to  her  so  ill- 
founded  that,  whatever  he  might  do,  she  did  not  think 
that  he  could  ever  make  her  swallow  it. 

Thèse  words  were  such  strong  ones  that,  whatever 
was  the  Cardinal's  respect  for  her  Majesty,  he  could 
not  remain  silent.  He  tried  to  exculpate  himself  and 
did  so  in  terms  which  so  gravely  displeased  this 
princess,  that  she  was  forced  to  tell  him  more  un- 
pleasant  things  than  before.  He  withdrew  quite 
confused  and  quite  mortified,  and,  the  serious  business 
he  then  had  at  Court  obliging  him  to  go  away  for 
some  days,  he  left  Besmaux  with  her  Majesty  to  effect 
a  reconciliation.     He  ordered  him  to  tell  her  that  her 


6o  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

bad  treatment  would  oblige  him  to  leave  the  kingdom 
more  than  ail  the  decrees  of  the  Parlement  ;  that  net 
only  the  whole  of  France,  but  further,  ail  Europe  was 
convinced  she  had  confidence  in  him,  but  ail  the  same 
it  must  be  very  slight,  since  it  could  not  prevail  against 
the  shrewdness  of  a  native  of  Bearn  ;  that  for  many 
reasons  he  would  like  the  Parlement  and  ail  other 
enemies  to  know  what  was  going  on,  for,  as  they  took 
as  sole  pretext  for  their  fractiousness  the  kindnesses 
which  they  supposed  her  Majesty  to  bestow  upon  him, 
nothing  could  better  disabuse  them  than  the  little 
confidence  she  reposed  in  his  words.  Further,  since 
there  could  be  nothing  more  painful  for  a  man  who 
found  himself  attacked  by  the  whole  of  a  great  kingdom 
(and  especially  for  one  like  himself,  who  knew  that  ail 
the  hatred  borne  him  but  arose  from  his  embracing 
the  interests  of  her  Majesty  with  a  little  too  much 
warmth)  he  was  resolved  to  withdraw  into  Italy,  since 
he  found  himself  deprived  of  the  reward  he  expected 
for  his  services.  He  had  always  done  everything  to 
please  her,  and  to  prove  that  nothing  equalled  her  own 
interests  in  his  mind.  However,  from  présent  appear- 
ances,  he  seemed  to  hâve  thoroughly  wasted  his  time 
and  was  in  despair  in  conséquence,  but  nevertheless, 
could  do  nothing  else,  for,  when  one  did  everything 
possible,  one  was  not  obliged  to  do  more.  The 
Cardinal  further  instructed  Besmaux  to  continue  to 
insist  upon  the  imprisonment  of  thèse  two  men,  and, 
if  unable  to  succeed,  to  at  least  request  the  Queen  to 
hâve  them  banished  to  some  town  far  away  from  the 
Court. 

Besmaux  was   delighted   to  find   himself  thus   em- 
'ployed    by    the     Cardinal.      He     had    already    been 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  6i 

concerned  in  some  other  little  matters,  but,  as  it  had 
never  been  in  connection  with  the  Queen,   nor   even 
with  anyone  who  was  within  a  hundred  paces  of  her 
rank,  he  became  so  jubilant  that  it  was  not  difficult 
for  me  to  see  by  his  manner  that  he  had  some  great 
reason  for  rejoicing.      And  indeed,  this  showed  itself 
to  me  so  clearly  that,  although  I  was  weU  aware  that 
one  never  ought  to  ask  people  secrets,  I  could  not  help 
telling  him  that  he  was   wiong  to  conceal  his  good 
luck  from  his  friends,  as  it  deprived  them  of  the  means 
of  rejoicing   with   him.      He   made    pretence    of   not 
understanding  what   I   meant,  and,  having  asked  me 
for   an   explanation,    I    innocently   told    him    what    I 
thought.     He  would  not  own   the   matter  to  me,    in 
which    he   was  not    far   wrong,    since,    besides    being 
obHged  to  keep  the  secret,  I  should  not  hâve  awarded 
him  much  praise  for  showing  so  much  dehght,  when 
it   would  seem   to  me  rather  that  he  should   display 
nothing  but  sadness.     Indeed,  this  business  was  not 
too  creditable  to  his  master,  and,  however  he  might 
acquit  himself,  his  own  honour  would    be  concerned, 
to  my  way  of  thinking.     Be  this  as  it  may,  not  having 
been  able  to  extract  any  answer,  but  that  I  was  puzzling 
to  try  and  iind  out,  and  was  a  sorry  guesser,  he  betook 
himself  to   carrying   out   his    Eminence's   commands, 
and  succeeded  none  too  well.     The  Queen  continued 
to  do  Treville  justice,  and  her  good  opinion  of  him 
saving  his  brother-in-law,  towards  whom  her  feelings 
were  not  altogether  so  favourable,  it  only  remained  for 
the   Cardinal  to  carry  out  his  threats.     He  had  had 
this  princess  informed  that  he  would  return  to  Italy  ; 
but  he  took  care  not  to  do  a  thing  so  agreeable  to 
France,  one  which   would   hâve  saved   it   many  men 


62  ME  MOI  R  s   OF  D'AkTAGNAN 

and  many  millions.  Indeed,  the  civil  war  now  raging 
in  the  realm  was  only  on  his  account,  or  at  least,  if 
the  ambition  of  certain  people  had  something  to  do 
with  it  (such  as  the  Prince  de  Condé  and  certain 
members  of  the  Parlement),  he  might  easily  hâve 
removed  the  cause,  had  he  been  content  to  restrain  his 
temper.  However,  he  took  care  not  to  thus  abandon 
the  post  of  Prime  Minister,  a  post  in  which  he  had 
already  amassed  a  quantity  of  money  which  he  had 
sent  to  Italy,  and  in  which  he  contemplated  amassing 
a  good  deal  more  to  satisfy  his  avarice.  Accordingly, 
very  far  from  altering  his  conduct  to  please  the  popu- 
lace who  loudly  complained  of  it,  he  still  continued  to 
sell  such  offices  as  might  chance  to  be  vacant,  no 
matter  of  what  kind  they  might  be.  He  went  so  far 
even  as  to  sell  those  which  had  never  before  been  sold, 
such  as  the  post  of  "  Surintendant  des  Finances,"  for 
which  the  Marquis  de  la  Vieuville  had  given  him  four 
hundred  thousand  francs.  This  marquis  had  imagined 
that,  in  considération  of  this  sum,  he  would  let  him 
do  as  he  pleased,  and  that  afterwards  he  would  not 
take  long  to  recoup  himself  ;  however,  he  had  clipped 
his  wings  so  well  that,  had  it  not  been  that  the 
Cardinal  could  not  see  everything,  he  would  hardly 
hâve  had  "  water  to  drink  at  home."  Indeed,  his  family 
is  no  longer  rich,  and  it  would  hâve  been  better  for  it 
that  he  should  hâve  kept  his  money,  and  not  had  such 
a  good  appetite. 

His  Eminence,  who,  after  his  threats  to  the  Queen, 
still  wished  that  she  should  be  grateful  to  him  for 
remaining,  had  her  told  by  his  "  créature  "  that,  if  he 
was  not  following  the  dictâtes  of  his  just  resentment, 
it  was  because  he  took  pity  on  the  sad  state  in  which 


ME  MO  1RS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  63 

he  found  the  kingdom.  His  désire  was,  to  repair  the 
ravages  made  in  it  before  he  left  ;  this  done,  he  hoped 
she  would  not  refuse  to  allow  him  to  départ.  His 
Eminence  showed  good  sensé  in  speaking  thus,  and 
even  conscientiousness,  since,  as  it  was  he  who  had 
made  the  ravages,  it  was  but  right  he  should  repair 
them  ;  however,  instead  of  succeeding  as  he  expected, 
he  very  nearly  made  a  more  serions  one  than  ail  those 
which  had  been  made  before. 

No  sooner  was  the  Prince  de  Condé  with  his  army, 
than  he  made  a  sudden  attack  upon  the  Maréchal 
d'Hocquincourt.  He  fell  on  his  soldiers,  who  were 
separated  from  those  of  Turenne,  whilst  they  deemed 
themselves  in  perfect  safety.  The  whole  Court  fell 
into  terrible  consternation,  and  was  even  in  great 
straits.  It  no  longer  drew  any  money  from  Paris,  nor 
from  many  provinces  ;  and,  as  kings  hâve  this  in 
common  with  other  men,  "  that  they  are  only  esteemed 
according  to  the  wealth  which  they  are  seen  topossess," 
a  number  of  courtiers  were  quite  ready  to  change  sides, 
because  they  saw  his  Majesty's  affairs  in  great  disorder. 
M.  le  Prince  could  not  fail  to  see  their  state  of  mind, 
for  he  had  many  allies  amongst  them,  from  whom  he 
perpetually  received  news,  but  as  he  also  had  fair 
friands,  and  ones  who  were  much  nearer  his  heart 
than  anything  else,  he  left  his  army  to  the  Duc  de 
Nemours,  and  went  to  see  them  at  Paris. 

His  Eminence,  who  could  hâve  had  no  greater 
pièce  of  good  fortune  than  to  see  this  prince  départ, 
for  he  feared  him  personally  more  than  the  whole  of 
his  army,  was  enchanted  to  know  that  he  was  in  the 
arms  of  his  mistresses.  He  thought,  as  indeed  seemed 
very  likely,  that  this  would  give  him  time,  especially 


64  ME  MO  1RS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

as  he  was  leaving  the  command  of  his  troops  to  a 
prince  who  was  no  less  amorous  than  himself.  Both 
indeed  were  in  love  with  the  same  lady,  but  with  this 
différence  that,  although  the  two  of  them  had  given 
their  hearts  to  the  Duchesse  de  Châtillon,  one  was  a 
far  more  faithful  lover  than  the  other.  The  Prince  de 
Condé  was  but  a  flighty  swain,  who  amused  himself 
with  flitting  from  flower  to  flower,  whilst  the  duc 
took  his  passion  seriously.  Ail  the  same  his  mistress 
was  not  worth  such  a  thing.  She  had,  so  to  speak,  "  as 
many  lovers  as  there  are  days  in  a  year,"  and  if  one 
were  to  replace  reliance  on  scandalous  reports,  she  was 
much  of  the  same  disposition  as  the  Prince  de  Condé. 
Although  she  had  a  greater  fancy  for  the  Duc  de 
Nemours  than  for  anyone  else,  this  did  not  prevent  her 
from  turning  a  willing  ear  to  ail  who  wished  to  make 
love  to  her.  She  and  the  duc  had  often  exchanged 
rough  words  on  this  subject — to  the  extent  even  of 
wanting  to  leave  one  another.  However,  this  prince's 
affection  for  her  was  so  great  that,  in  spite  of  his  being 
as  it  were  certain  of  his  misfortunes,  she  made  him 
believe  quite  the  contrary,  whenever  she  cared  to  take 
the  trouble. 

Lucky  would  it  hâve  been  for  M.  le  Prince,  had  the 
duchess  been  the  only  woman  who  deceived  him  !  At 
least,  he  would  hâve  been  able  to  hâve  returned  to 
take  the  command  of  his  army,  and  give  the  Cardinal 
fresh  trouble.  However,  his  other  mistresses  having 
treated  him  worse  than  she  had  done,  by  merely 
granting  him  their  favours,  he  found  himself  in  con- 
séquence so  incommoded  that  he  was  obliged  to  place 
himself  in  the  hands  of  the  surgeons.  He  concealed 
this  misfortune  under  the  guise  of  the  necessity,  which 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  65 

he  made  people  believe  called  him  to  Paris.  The 
Parlement  was  sitting  there  as  usual,  and  the  return 
of  the  Cardinal  had  put  that  body  into  such  a  bad 
temper  with  him,  that,  as  I  hâve  already  said,  they 
were  fulminating  some  terrible  decrees  against  his 
person.  One  of  them  laid  down  the  price  of  his 
head  at  fifty  thousand  crowns.  Another  ordered  the 
sale  of  his  library,  so  that  that  sum  might  always 
be  ready  for  the  man  who  should  commit  this  murder. 
No  minister  could  hâve  Deen  more  severely  handled, 
and  as  he  had  often  heard  speak  of  the  Maréchal 
d'Ancre,^  this  last  blow  really  made  him  wish  to  return 
to  Italy.  The  fear  of  meeting  with  his  fate  made  him 
speak  to  the  Queen,  whose  courage  was  of  quite  a 
différent  sort  from  his  own,  since  the  least  thing  made 
him  tremble,  and  her  Majesty  (who,  on  the  contrary, 
only  became  more  resolute  as  she  perceived  a  danger 
growing  greater)  told  him  to  take  courage.  She  made 
use  of  the  most  expressive  terms  possible  to  persuade 
him,  even  to  the  extent  of  saying  that  his  business  was 
her  own,  but,  as  people  are  much  more  easily  preserved 
from  danger  than  fear,  he  continued  to  be  in  such 
a  plight  that  he  would  willingly  hâve  hidden  himself 
had  he  dared.  The  Queen  was  obliged  (seeing  he  was 
not  reassured  by  her  words)  to  make  the  Vicomte  de 
Turenne  give  him  an  assurance  that  the  Parlement  was 
not  in  a  state  to  do  him  the  harm  he  was  afraid  of. 
His  Eminence  might  perhaps  hâve  thought  something 
of  this,  had  the  vicomte  been  always  at  hand  with  his 
army  ;  but,  as  this  gênerai  had  business  elsewhere,  he 
had  scarcely  gone  away  v/hen  the  Cardinal  resolved  to 
ask  the  Queen  for  leave  to  départ. 

I  The  Maréchal  d'Ancre  was  assassinated  in  the  reign  of 
Louis  XIII.  with  the  connivance  of  that  monarch. 

VOL.  II.  K 


6è  MËMOIRS  OF  D'AkTAGNAM 

Meanwhile,  his  Eminence  conceived  the  idea  of 
offering  one  of  his  nièces  to  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne, 
to  induce  him  to  utilise  ail  his  military  knowledge  to 
extricate  him  from  his  wretched  plight.  He  trembled 
lest  he  should  once  more  déclare  himself  against  his 
sovereign,  the  more  so  as  his  eldest  brother  was  at 
présent  in  arms  against  him  in  the  Province  of  Bor- 
deaux. Naturally  suspicious,  he  was  not  sure  whether 
the  two  brothers  had  not  some  understanding,  and  if 
he  ought  not  to  be  afraid  of  his  turning  his  back,  when 
his  help  might  be  most  necessary.  He  communicated 
his  ideas  to  Navailles,  who  at  once  encouraged  him 
in  them,  thinking  this  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the 
Vicomte  de  Turenne,  who  as  yet  had  neither  office  nor 
governorship,  such  as  he  soon  afterwards  obtained. 
He  even  undertook  to  mention  the  subject  to  him, 
hoping  that,  as  he  himself  followed  the  career  of  arms, 
this  gênerai  (who  ought  to  be  grateful  to  him  for 
arranging  this  marriage)  would  prove  his  gratitude 
when  they  should  meet.  The  Cardinal  accepted  his 
offers,  so  that  the  proposai  was  duly  made.  At  that 
time  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  was  a  good  Huguenot,^ 
and  thinking  that  he  ought  not  to  marry  a  woman  of 
a  différent  faith  from  his  own,  although  this  was  common 
enough  at  the  time,  he  replied  to  Navailles  that  he 
was  much  obliged  to  the  Cardinal  for  the  honour 
he  wanted  to  confer  upon  him,  but  the  sensitiveness 
of  his  conscience  prevented  his  being  able  to  profit  by 
it.  This  answer,  which  was  not  that  of  a  courtier 
(whose  custom  is  to  hâve  no  religion  at  ail  whenever 
his   prosperity   is   concerned),    alarmed    the    Cardinal 

I  Turenne  became  a  Catholic  in  the  3'ear  1668. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  67 

more  than  ever.  He  at  once  thought  that  the  vicomte 
was  only  rejecting  this  alliance  with  him  because  he 
had  a  more  délicate  conscience  than  Cardinal  de 
Richelieu,  who  had  made  no  difficulties  about  making 
the  Duc  de  Puilaurens  perish  by  causing  him  to  marry 
his  relative.  He  thought,  I  repeat,  that  he  did  not 
want  to  be  accused,  like  him,  of  having  made  this 
marriage,  the  better  to  catch  a  man  he  wanted  to  ruin. 
Accordingly,  growing  more  and  more  imbued  with  this 
idea,  he  began  to  look  so  askance  at  the  gênerai,  that 
the  latter  thought  himself  obliged  to  speak  to  the 
Queen  about  it.  Meantime,  as  he  believed  that  ail 
this  originated  only  from  what  had  passed  betvveen 
Navailles  and  himself,  he  was  obliged  to  tell  her,  so 
that  she  might  the  better  appreciate  his  reasons.  The 
Queen,  who  was  very  devout  and  who  resembled  the 
vicomte  in  believing  that  it  was  a  very  good  thing  for 
two  people  of  différent  religions  not  to  marry,  bade 
him  calm  his  mind  and  she  would  bring  his  Eminence 
to  reason.  She  did,  indeed,  speak  to  him  about  it, 
and  as  this  minister  liked  to  get  some  good  out  of 
everything,  he  replied  that,  if  he  entertained  any 
irritation  against  the  gênerai,  it  was  only  by  reason 
of  his  interests.  When,  said  he,  he  had  caused  a 
marriage  with  one  of  his  nièces  to  be  proposed  to 
him,  it  was  not  because  of  his  great  wealth  or  of  the 
splendid  establishment  he  could  give  her.  He  knew 
what  the  fortune  of  a  cadet  of  the  house  of  Bouillon 
was  ;  but,  as  in  the  présent  state  of  affairs,  when 
everybody  was  glorying  in  being  false  to  their  word, 
he  deemed  that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  her 
Majesty  to  make  sure  of  him,  he  had  tried  in  this 
way   to   so   thoroughly   secure   him,   that,   no   matter 

5-2 


68  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

what  others  might  propose  to  him,  he  would  not  be 
ready  to  accept  it. 

Charles  IL,  King  of  England,  had  been  unable, 
since  his  father's  sad  death,  to  find  any  means  of  re- 
mounting  the  throne.  Not  that  he  had  gone  to  sleep. 
He  had  been  trying  to  arm  ail  his  subjects  in  order  to 
revenge  the  terrible  parricide  which  had  taken  place, 
but  this  had  only  served  to  increase  his  misfortunes. 
As  there  were  but  few  faithful  to  him,  he  had  been 
either  so  feebly  seconded,  or  so  ill  served,  that,  after 
having  risked  a  great  battle,  he  had  had  a  good  deal 
of  trouble  to  save  himself  from  the  hands  of  the  rebels. 
Eventually,  after  unheard-of  sufferings  and  running  a 
risk,  the  mère  recollection  of  which  makes  one  tremble, 
he  had  passed  over  into  France,  as  to  a  place  where 
he  might  hope  to  find  safer  asylum  than  anywhere 
else.  As  he  was  the  son  of  a  daughter  of  France,  this 
alone  seemed  to  him  enough  to  banish  ail  fears. 
Moreover,  he  knew  that  the  French  prided  themselves 
on  succouring  the  unfortunate  and  oppressed  like 
himself,  Nor  had  he  been  deceived  in  thèse  hopes. 
He  had  found  not  only  the  King  and  Queen,  but  also 
the  whole  people  just  as  much  touched  by  his  mis- 
fortunes  as  they  could  hâve  been  by  their  own. 
Consequently,  he  had  thought  himself  bound  to  be 
grateful  to  everyone,  and  as,  in  the  troublous  state  in 
which  the  country  was,  we  needed,  just  as  he  himself 
did,  people  to  alleviate  our  miseries,  he  had  employed 
himself  in  this  so  usefully  at  the  time  when  the  Duc 
de  Lorraine  held  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  as  it  were 
in  his  hands,  that  it  was  he  to  whom  a  debt  of  gratitude 
was  due  for  having  extricated  that  gênerai  from  the 
predicament  in  which  he  was.     Yet  Charles  11.  was 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  69 

but  twenty  one — an  âge  when  most  people  are  unfitted 
for  carrying  on  negotiations  !  Hovvever,  as  he  had 
been  brought  up  in  adversity,  he  had  learnt  more  in  a 
year  than  anyone  else  would  hâve  done  in  several 
years  ;  so,  still  continuing  to  be  desirous  of  proving 
his  gratitude  towards  a  crown  to  which  he  deemed  he 
vvas  under  an  obligation,  he  entered  the  army,  where 
he  served  in  person,  just  as  the  humblest  soldier 
might  hâve  done. 

The  civil  war  having  ended,  the  Queen  thought  of 
nothing  else  but  making  the  Cardinal  return.  He  vvas 
bored  to  death  at  Sedan,  indeed,  boredom  was  his 
most  serions  malady.  Accordingly,  no  sooner  did  he 
know  that  the  Parlement  had  concluded  peace,  than  of 
a  sudden  he  found  himself  resuscitated.  He  no  longer 
spoke  at  ail  of  still  being  unvi^ell,  and,  on  the  contrary, 
looking  into  affairs  on  the  frontier  where  he  was,  the 
Queen  exaggerated  this  activity  of  his  to  everybody, 
declaring  that  without  him  the  Prince  de  Condé  would 
certainly  hâve  gained  other  victories  besides  those  he 
had  just  done.  This  opened  the  eyes  of  ail  those  who 
had  wished  to  blind  themselves.  The  Cardinal  de 
Retz  was  wild  with  fury  and  rage  to  find  himself  so 
grossly  tricked  !  Hovvever,  as  his  mistake  was  now 
not  to  be  remedied,  and  as  there  vvas  no  one  who  was 
in  a  mood  to  espouse  his  interests  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  recommence  the  war  for  his  sake,  he  was  obliged 
to  angrily  "  champ  his  bit."  The  Queen  discovered 
that  he  was  attempting  varions  manœuvres  and  various 
plots,  with  a  view  to  replunging  the  State  into  the 
troubles  out  of  which  it  had  but  just  emerged.  This 
obliged  her  to  think  more  than  ever  of  having  him 
arrested,  and  perhaps  she  would  at  once  hâve  done  so 


70  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

in  spite  of  the  Cardinal's  advice,  had  he  not  added  to 
what  he  had  already  told  her,  "  that  the  pear  was  not 
yet  ripe,"  and  that,  before  culHng  it,  she  ought  to 
aHenate  from  the  Cardinal  de  Retz  his  principal  friends 
in  the  Parlement.  Did  she  not  make  sure  of  things  in 
this  quarter,  there  was  danger  of  the  Court  of  Rome 
wanting  to  interfère  ;  for,  more  often  than  not,  it  was 
wont  to  meddle  where  it  had  no  business.  His 
Eminence  (Mazarin)  had  concluded  by  saying  that, 
although  her  Majesty  was  only  responsible  for  her 
conduct  to  God  and  to  the  King,  her  son,  the  Court 
in  question  aspired  to  looking  into  everything  which 
had  any  référence  to  the  persons  of  the  Cardinals. 
One  ought  to  deliver  oneself  from  enemies  at  home 
before  drawing  strangers  upon  oneself;  for,  when 
attacked  at  home  and  abroad,  it  was  but  by  a  kind  of 
miracle  that  any  résistance  could  be  made. 

The  Queen  placed  faith  in  his  advice,  and  tried  to 
win  the  Parlement  over,  before  carrying  out  the  résolve 
she  had  formed  as  to  his  Eminence  (De  Retz).  She 
won  over  some  members  of  that  body  by  fair  words, 
and  having  softened  by  présents  those  who  appeared 
to  désire  something  more  substantial  than  words,  so 
as  to  thoroughly  assure  their  fidelity,  she  was  soon  in 
a  position  to  exécute  her  plans.  This  was  highly 
necessary  to  re-establish  tranquillity  in  the  realm,  and 
to  repuise  the  Spaniards,  who  had  just  retaken  Grave- 
hnes  and  Dunkirk  once  more.  Besides,  it  was  quite 
obvious  that  the  Cardinal  in  question,  with  a  mind  as 
uneasy  and  turbulent  as  his,  was  not  able  to  keep 
himself  quiet.  His  ambition  was  entirely  alien  to  his 
character,  and  ail  who  knew  him  declared  that  no  one 
was  more  unfitted  to  govern  a  kingdom  than  he.     For, 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  71 

very  far  from  possessing  that  coolness  which  is 
absolutely  essentiai  for  such  an  important  undertaking, 
he  had  such  an  extraordinary  temper  that  he  would 
lose  control  of  himself,  if  he  entertained  the  least  idea 
that  he  had  grounds  for  being  angry.  But  what 
further  made  it  more  apparent  that  there  was  a 
stronger  reason  than  this  for  making  sure  of  his 
person  was,  that  it  seemed  as  it  were  impossible  for 
him  not  to  create  disturbances  as  long  as  he  was  at 
liberty.  Further,  he  was  ruined,  because  he  had 
already  spent  so  much  to  succeed  in  his  plans  as  to 
hâve  no  other  means  of  repairing  the  ravages  he  had 
made  in  his  fortune,  but  by  occupying  the  position 
he  had  so  long  coveted.  He  owed  nearly  three 
millions,  and  it  was  thus  that  a  man,  the  duties  of 
whose  office  obliged  him  to  point  out  to  others  that 
it  was  wrong  to  be  ambitions  or  to  harm  one's 
neighbour,  had  strayed  away  from  a  morality  so  holy 
and  so  true  !  He  had  let  himself  drift  into  this  state, 
because,  from  his  disposition,  he  saw  nothing  which 
could  make  him  happy  but  the  government  of  the 
kingdom.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Queen,  having 
exactly  followed  the  advice  of  Cardinal  Mazarin, 
contrived  by  her  prudence  to  conduct  matters  to  such 
a  state  of  maturity,  that,  before  two  fnonths  were  over, 
she  found  herself  in  a  position  not  only  to  hâve  the 
Cardinal  de  Retz  arrested,  but  also  to  make  her 
minister  return.  Mazarin  was  désirons  that  the  one 
should  précède  the  other,  that  is  to  say,  that  the 
person  of  his  rival  should  be  secured  before  his  own 
return  was  discussed.  He  thought  that  there  were 
two  reasons  which  rendered  this  absolutely  necessary. 
The  one  was  that,  if  by  chance  her  Majesty  should 


72  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

chance  to  fail  in  her  stroke,  and  the  Parlement 
should  view  her  attempt  with  disfavour,  he  would  be 
obliged  to  leave  the  kingdom  for  a  third  time,  were 
he  to  hâve  corne  back.  The  other  reason  was,  that 
people  would  not  attack  him  about  it  so  much  if  he 
was  not  on  the  spot  (although  there  might  perhaps 
be  a  suspicion  as  to  his  being  the  author  of  the 
business)  as  if  he  were  at  the  moment  head  of  her 
Majesty's  Council.  The  first  of  thèse  reasons  was 
fairly  good,  and  one  might  even  add  that,  should  the 
populace  rise  in  conséquence  of  the  arrest,  he  need 
hâve  no  fear  of  its  laying  hands  on  him,  since  he  was 
out  of  its  powers  where  he  now  was.  But  as  to  the 
other,  it  was  so  weak  that  it  did  not  deserve  to  make 
the  least  impression  on  his  mind,  Although  he  was 
away  from  the  Court,  it  was  not  necessary  to  know 
very  much  about  what  was  happening  not  to  feel  sure 
that  ail  the  blâme  would  fall  upon  him.  Accordingly, 
présent  or  absent,  he  might  feel  certain  that  ail  the 
good  and  ail  the  harm  would  be  laid  to  his  charge. 
His  précautions  in  this  direction  were  then  very  use- 
less,  and  even  so  out  of  place  that,  had  he  made  his 
delicacy  known,  ail  who  might  hear  about  it  would 
hâve  been  more  likely  to  laugh  at  it  rather  than  give 
their  approval. 

The  Queen,  who  concerned  herself  much  less  in 
looking  into  everything  than  in  foUowing  her  inclina- 
tions, did  as  he  told  her,  and  having  caused  the 
Cardinal  de  Retz  to  be  arrested,  no  one  made  any 
disturbance  because,  though  people  clearly  saw  that 
the  deprivation  of  his  liberty  announced  the  speedy 
return  of  Cardinal  Mazarin,  they  were  so  pleased 
at  having  a  taste  of  peace,  that  they  did  not  want. 


MEMOIRS   OF    D'ARTAGNAN  73 

by  undertaking  fresh  things,  to  lose  a  benefit  of 
which  they  had  been  deprived  too  long  for  their  own 
comfort.  Besides,  as  the  prisoner  had  never  played 
any  other  part  than  one  exactly  opposite  to  that 
which  he  should  hâve  done,  the  love  borne  him  was 
so  slight  that  no  one  worried  about  what  had  hap- 
pened  to  him.  He  was  conducted  to  Vincennes  and 
placed  in  the  same  room  which  the  Duc  de  Beaufort 
had  escaped  from  some  time  back.  However,  such 
stringent  orders  were  issued  for  care  to  be  taken  that 
he  did  not  do  the  same  thing,  that  he  soon  saw  that, 
while  thèse  orders  were  carried  out  with  as  much 
exactitude  as  they  then  were,  any  attempt  of  his 
would  be  useless. 

Some  days  later,  the  Marquis  de  Vieuville  chanced 
to  die,  and  as  it  was  the  first  day  of  the  year  1653, 
between  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  his 
Suisse  (porter)  was  so  saddened  at  the  thought  of  not 
getting  any  New  Year's  présents,  that  he  would  hâve 
hung  himself  had  he  not  been  prevented.  He  was 
discovered  to  hâve  already  gone  in  search  of  a  rope, 
but  someone  having  noticed  his  despair,  people  tried 
to  calm  his  mind.  This  was  very  difficult  with  a 
Suisse  who  recognised  no  other  God  but  money  ! 
However,  a  person  cleverer  than  other  people  hav- 
ing promised  to  get  him  into  the  service  of  whoever 
might  succeed  to  the  post  of  Surintendant,  the 
porter  eventually  consoled  himself  for  his  loss  with 
the  hope  of  a  greater  profit.  The  post  was  divided 
between  Servient  and  M.  Fouquet,  Procureur-Général 
of  the  Parlement  of  Paris.  It  was  given  to  the  latter 
as  a  reward  for  the  services  which  he  had  rendered 
to  his  Eminence  in  his  company  during  the  civil  war. 


74  ME  MOI  R  S   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

As  to  the  other,  he  obtained  it  because  the  Cardinal 
reckoned  that  he  would  make  him  do  everything  he 
wanted,  and  to  speak  frankly,  he  would  only  be  his 
clerk.  Accordingly,  he  gave  him  ail  the  best  of  the 
post  of  Surintendant,  whilst  he  left  the  other  ail  the 
unpleasant  portion.  He  gave  the  power  of  "  lier  et 
délier,"^  to  Servient,  that  is  to  say,  of  delivering 
bills,  or,  to  speak  more  plainly,  having  them  paid 
whenever  he  chose,  for  we  were  then  at  a  time,  when 
his  Majesty's  wanting  to  do  good  to  someone  availed 
nothing,  if  the  Surintendant  des  Finances  did  not 
approve  of  it.  Whatever  bill  one  might  hâve,  it  was 
but  a  song,  unless  it  was  passed  by  the  minister  in 
question.  I  am  well  aware  that  this  procédure  still 
prevails  to-day,  but  there  is  this  différence  between 
then  and  now,  that  at  présent,  once  a  bill  is  issued, 
everything  works  automatically  without  one's  being 
obliged  to  pass  through  the  hands  of  a  number  of 
blood-suckers,  which  in  thosc  days  were  quite  inévit- 
able. Cardinal  Mazarin  was  himself  one  of  thèse 
blood-suckers,  and  even  one  of  the  most  cruel,  so 
much  so  that,  when  he  had  caused  one  of  thèse  bills 
not  to  be  met,  a  thing  which  often  happened,  he 
would  send  out  emissaries  to  arrange  the  price  he 
would  let  it  pass  at.  He  knew  very  well  how  to  get 
paid  afterwards,  and  it  is  by  means  of  this  charming 
profession  that  he  acquired  a  portion  of  the  immense 
riches  he  left  to  his  heirs  at  his  death. 

Nothing  of  importance  occurred  between  the  im- 
prisonment  of  Cardinal  de  Retz  and  the  return  of 
Mazarin,  except  the  death  I  hâve  just  spoken  of.     The 

I  "  Lier  et  délier,"  really  an  ecclesiastical  term,  meaning 
•'  to  give  or  refuse  absolution,"  though  hère  used  in  the  sensé  of 
•'  holding  control  over  the  finances. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  75 

King  went  to  meet  this  minister,  to  whom  he  deemed 
himself  under  an  obligation,  because  he  was  given  to 
understand  that  everything  he  did  was  but  in  his 
interests.  As  he  was  not  yet  of  an  âge  to  know  how 
to  discern  between  his  good  servants  and  his  bad  ones, 
he  of  necessity  had  to  rely  on  those  who  should  hâve 
known  them  better  than  himself.  Everybody  hastened 
to  pay  his  court  to  the  minister,  well  divining  that  he 
was  about  to  become  more  powerful  than  ever.  I  did 
the  same  thing  as  the  others,  because,  after  having 
been  his  servant  as  I  had  been,  I  did  not  see  how  I 
could  reasonably  get  out  of  doing  so.  However,  I 
avoided  those  transports  which  savoured  more  of  the 
slave  than  of  a  grateful  man,  so  much  so  that  I  let 
those  who  were  in  the  greatest  hurry  go  before  I 
myself  went.  The  Cardinal  reproached  me  for  this, 
upon  which,  not  being  much  astonished,  I  answered 
him  that  ail  those  in  whom  he  observed  so  much 
eagerness  would  hâve  done  just  the  same  thing  for 
his  enemies,  had  they  found  means  to  overcome  him. 
As  for  myself,  who  did  things  in  quite  a  single-minded 
way,  and  without  humbug,  there  were  a  thousand  more 
reasons  for  relying  upon  my  fidelity  than  on  ail  their 
simperings.     Upon  this  he  at  once  said  to  me  : 

"  Artagnan,  I  did  not  know  the  French  before  I 
governed  them,  but  the  Spaniards  hâve  great  reason 
for  caUing  them  rogues.  There  is  nothing  one  cannot 
make  them  do  for  money,  and  even  by  the  mère  hope 
of  making  a  fortune.  Formerly,  I  imagined  that  it 
was  the  nation  of  the  world  most  worthy  of  being 
esteemed  ;  what  further  gave  me  this  opinion  was, 
that  I  saw  people  resisting  Cardinal  Richelieu  with  ail 
their  strength.     However,  if  I  am  to  judge  those  times 


76  MEMO  1RS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

by  thèse,  they  were  certainly  his  enemies,  only  because 
he  would  not  buy  them.  A  few  pistoles,  more  or  less, 
would  hâve  attained  his  object  ;  and  this  is  the  idea  I 
shall  always  hold  until  such  time  as  I  shall  hâve 
discovered  someone  who  is  either  clever  or  honourable 
man  enough  to  disillusion  me." 

I  did  not  like  his  entertaining  such  a  bad  opinion  of 
a  kingdom  where  there  are  so  many  brave  and  honest 
people.  It  seemed  to  me  unjust,  as  well  as  full  of 
ingratitude,  coming  from  him  who  had  entered  France 
as  much  a  beggar  as  any  painter,  and  who  had  already 
married  one  of  his  nièces  to  a  grandson  of  Henri  the 
Great  !  For  eventually,  notwithstanding  the  obstacle 
which  the  Prince  de  Condé  had  wanted  to  put  in  the 
way  of  the  marriage  of  the  Duc  de  Mercoeur  with  a 
Mancini,  the  duc  had  taken  this  step,  although  ail  his 
enemies  had  secretly  told  him  that  he  was  about  to 
contract  a  marriage  which  would  bring  him  no  honour. 
To  dissuade  him,  they  had  even  tried  to  insinuate  that 
the  position  of  the  Cardinal  was  as  yet  so  ill  established 
that  it  wanted  a  mère  nothing  to  upset  it.  However, 
either  because  he  was  in  love  with  his  nièce,  or  because 
he  thought  everything  he  heard  about  this  originated 
merely  from  jealousy,  he  carried  out  the  match  m 
spite  of  everything  they  could  say.  It  even  seemed  as 
if  his  father  would  refuse  to  give  his  consent — a  cir- 
cumstance  which  made  him  adopt  the  course  of 
marrying  her  secretly.  Nevertheless,  whatever  face 
the  Duc  de  Vendôme  pulled,  he  was  one  of  those 
people  of  whom  the  Cardinal  had  spoken.  He  made 
himself  the  slave  of  money,  and  therefore  he  was  not 
so  particular  about  the  matter  as  he  wished  people  to 
think.      Consequently,   no   one    could   dissuade   those 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  77 

who  flattered  themselves  on  knowing  things  frcm  a 
good  source,  that  ail  his  son  did  was  not  done  in 
concert  with  himself.  Nevertheless,  he  did  not  wish 
this  idea  to  prevail  when  the  Cardinal  returned  to  tha 
Court.  He  withdrew,  as  if  displeased  at  his  coming 
into  favour,  but  this  was  only  to  play  his  game  the 
better  with  him,  so  much  so,  that  his  anger  entirely 
cooled  down,  when  he  saw  himself  offered  the  post  of 
Admirai  which  for  a  long  time  he  had  wished  for.  His 
Eminence  made  no  further  difficulty  about  disposing 
of  it,  now  that  the  Prince  de  Condé  had  gone  away. 
He  was  well  aware  that,  after  what  he  had  done,  he 
would  not  care  to  return  so  quickly  to  heap  reproaches 
on  his  head. 


M'I^ 


III 


S  I  disapproved  (as  I  hâve  just  said)  of  the 
liberty  his  Eminence  was  taking  in  insulting 
our  nation,  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not  exclude 
Treville  from  the  bad  opinion  he  held  about 
it.  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  latter  had  never 
by  his  conduct  given  any  cause  for  being 
numbered  amongst  the  people  he  had  just 
mentioned.  At  least,  one  could  not  say  that  he  had 
made  himself  the  slave  either  of  Cardinal  Richeheu  or 
any  other  man,  since  he  had  never  been  willing  to  give 
way  to  anyone  else  than  his  king.  I  told  the  Cardinal 
that  he,  more  than  others,  was  able  to  judge  of  this, 
for  Treville  had  made  a  stand  against  him  just  as 
much  as  against  Richelieu,  and  had  preferred  having 
his  career  wrecked  to  showing  himself  complaisant 
towards  him. 

The  Cardinal,  in  reply,  ansvvered  that  there  I  was 
quoting  an  instance  of  a  fool  who  only  deserved  to  be 
excluded  from  human  society.  Indeed,  just  as  there 
was  a  meanness  in  paying  homage  indiscriminately  to 
ever.vbody,  so  was  there  a  madness  in  refusing  it  to 


MÉMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  79 

him  whose  due  it  vvas.  Consequently,  when  Treville 
had  dared  to  resist  both  Richelieu  and  himself,  he  had 
shown  himself  more  fit  for  the  mad-house  than  for  the 
praise  which  I  was  trying  to  bestow  upon  him.  When- 
ever  a  man  was  of  real  worth  (as  I  had  declared  the 
individual  we  were  discussing  to  be),  he  based  the 
whole  of  his  conduct  upon  prudence,  and,  as  prudence 
demanded  that  one  should  bend  to  whoever  was  in 
power,  Treville  had  been  wrong  every  time  he  had  not 
done  so.  The  Cardinal  added,  that  perhaps  he  was 
not  entirely  without  some  feelings  of  repentance  for 
this  behaviour,  and  that,  were  I  to  speak  the  truth,  I 
would  own  that  he  had  spoken  on  the  subject  to  me. 
Even  were  this  not  the  case,  he  knew  very  well  that 
he  had  spoken  thus  to  someone  else.  He  was  very 
glad  to  casually  mention  this,  so  as  to  teach  me  that 
he  had  been  right  to  accuse  him  of  being  a  lunatic. 
Of  this  I  could  not  doubt  after  what  he  had  just  told 
me,  since  Treville  had  himself  admitted  that  he  was  a 
regular  madman,  when  he  accused  himself,  as  he  had 
done,  of  being  the  sole  cause  of  his  own  disgrâce. 

I  did  not  like  to  contradict  him,  although,  from  my 
knowledge  of  the  character  of  Treville,  I  entertained 
strong  doubts  as  to  his  being  capable  of  doing  what 
was  imputed  to  him.  I  was  afraid  of  upsetting  the 
Cardinal,  were  I  to  freely  speak  my  mind  ;  so,  pre- 
ferring  to  talk  about  someone  else,  I  asked  him  if 
Marigny,  who  had  greviously  offended  him,  though  he 
had  never  given  him  cause,  must  also  be  counted 
amongst  the  slaves  to  whom  he  had  referred.  I  added 
that  I  did  not  think  that  this  at  ail  events  was  the 
case,    for   hère   was   a   man    who    (instead   of  paying 


8o  MEMOIRS  OP  D'ARTAGNAM 

homage  to  him,  as  he  declared  ail  Frenchmen  vied 
with  one  another  to  do)  had  showered  a  quantity  of 
insults  upon  him.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  I  myself 
nor  any  respectable  person  approved  of  such  behaviour; 
so  I  would  not  take  this  particular  instance  to  concoct 
a  hero,  on  whose  model  I  would  advise  no  one  to 
mould  himself.  Much  rather  did  I  consider  him  a 
slanderer  and  a  regular  lunatic  ;  but  anyhow,  whatever 
he  was,  he  was  always  consistent  and  not  what  the 
Cardinal  had  said.  Marigny  had  no  turn  for  flattery, 
having  a  much  greater  one  for  satire. 

This  Marigny  was  a  man  who,  from  joyousness 
of  heart,  and  without  ever  having  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  Cardinal,  had  taken  pleasure  in  writing 
scandalous  verses  against  his  ministry  and  person. 
As  one  pleases  people  more  by  satire  than  any  other 
form  of  writing  whatsoever,  this  had  been  the  only 
thing  necessary  to  gain  him  not  only  friends  but  a 
réputation  for  cleverness  besides.  Thèse  friends, 
nevertheless,  were  not  like  a  captain  of  the  régiment 
de  la  marine,  whom  his  Eminence  some  time  later 
caused  to  be  thrown  into  the  Bastille,  for  having 
criticised  his  conduct,  but  in  a  serious  way,  as  is 
usual  amongst  respectable  people.  This  captain,  being 
in  prison,  told  those  who  thought  to  please  him  by 
abusing  the  minister,  that,  were  it  not  that  he  feared 
being  called  a  flatterer,  he  would  tell  them  that  they 
were  not  speaking  the  truth.  Truth  should  be  en- 
closed  in  certain  limits,  and  whoever  overstepped 
thèse  was  a  slanderer,  rather  than  a  truthful  man. 

But  to  return  to  my  subject.  The  Cardinal,  per- 
ceiving  that  I  went  on  to  cite  Marigny  as  an  example, 
capable  of  confuting  what  he  had  told  me,  replied  that 


ME  MOI  R  s   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  8i 

in  that  case,  I  was  speaking  of  a  man  whom  we  should 
wipe  out  from  the  human  race  by  reason  of  his  evil 
tongue.  He  would  willingly  ask  him  what  he  had 
done  to  cause  him  to  tear  him  to  pièces  in  his  satires 
as  he  did.  He  saw  nothing  strange  in  a  person's 
being  in  a  rage  with  an  individual  who  had  given 
him  cause  for  displeasure.  Nature  always  had  a 
leaning  towards  vengeance,  and  when  one  was  unable 
to  give  one's  enemy  a  sword-thrust,  one  was  often 
delighted  to  give  him  a  "  lash  of  the  tongue."  Marigny, 
however,  whom  he  had  never  done  good  nor  harm  to, 
could  only  be  regarded  as  a  monster  thirsting  for 
blood,  against  whom  everyone  ought  to  déclare  him- 
self.  In  conséquence,  I  had  cited  another  bad 
instance  in  the  same  way  as  I  had  Treville,  because 
a  monster  and  a  fool,  as  both  were,  must  not  be 
reckoned  amongst  men. 

This  was  ail  I  could  get  out  of  the  Cardinal,  and  as 
I  knew  very  well  that  it  would  not  be  sensible  to  dis- 
pute with  a  greater  man  than  oneself,  I  agreed  to  ail 
he  wished.  Nevertheless,  I  could  not  let  his  first  con- 
tention pass,  deeming  that  he  had  wrongly  insulted 
our  nation.  I  know  not  if  my  yielding,  or  my 
character,  which  was  différent  from  the  one  he  had 
just  attributed  to  other  people  (but  which  he  could 
not  attribute  to  me),  gained  me  his  favour,  but 
eventually  he  told  me  that,  although  he  had  admitted 
no  exception  to  his  indictment,  he  was  yet  obliged 
to  own  that  I  was  not  like  the  people  he  had  just 
spoken  of.  I  had,  he  continued,  never  paid  him 
court  except  as  an  honourable  man  should,  and, 
although  there  were  many  people  who,  in  his  place, 
would   like    others    to    grovel    before    them,   he   well 

VOL.   II  6 


83  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

knew  how  to  distinguish  between  what  arose  from 
a  free  and  right  submission,  and  what  was  done 
through  baseness.  He  bade  me  take  care  to  continue 
to  live  as  I  had  begun,  and  he  would  remember  me 
at  the  right  time  and  place.  I  should  hâve  been 
delighted  at  thèse  promises,  had  I  not  known  that  too 
much  trust  must  not  be  placed  in  them.  Besides, 
I  perceived  him  so  eagar  for  riches,  as  not  to  be  able 
to  flatter  myself  that  he  would  bestow  them  on  anyone 
else,  especially  as  ail  was  fish  that  came  to  his 
net.  In  the  meantime,  as  he  was  in  a  position 
to  assist  people  when  he  wanted  to,  I  sought  for 
something  which  would  cost  him  nothing,  and  which 
might  make  my  fortune.  Some  days  later,  I  was 
told  that  a  Portuguese,  Dom  Lopes  by  name,  who 
dealt  in  precious  stones,  had  just  died  suddenly 
without  ever  having  been  naturalised.  I  asked  him 
for  the  "confiscation  "^  of  his  fortune,  which  certainly 
amounted  to  one  hundred  thousand  crowns.  This 
Dom  Lopes  was  well  enough  known  at  Court  for  ail 
its  frequenters  to  be  aware  that  he  possessed  a  good 
deal  of  property.  The  Cardinal,  to  whom  he  had  often 
sold  precious  stones,  knew  this  just  as  well  as  myself, 
and  perhaps  better  than  others,  for  it  was  a  peculiar 
characteristic  of  his,  that,  directly  he  was  told  that 
anyone  was  well  off,  he  wanted  to  know  ail  the  ins 
and  outs,  so  that  he  might  become  his  heir,  whenever 
occasion  should  présent  itself.  Accordingly,  having 
too  good  an  appetite  himself  to  bestow  such  a  choice 

I  "  Confiscation."  The  fortune  of  a  non-naturalised  foreigner 
at  this  time  went  to  the  King.  This  and  other  laws  relating  to 
the  disposition  of  the  property  left  by  foreigners  were  ouly 
suppressed  by  a  decree  of  August  6th,  1790. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  83 

morsel  on  another,  he  without  hésitation  replied,  that 
he  was  sorry  that  I  had  not  been  ^the  first  to  come  and 
ask  him  this  favour.  He  would,  he  said,  hâve  been 
charmed  to  procure  it  for  me,  but,  having  let  myself 
be  anticipated  by  someone  else,  the  thing  was  already 
done.  Dom  Lopes  lodged  at  the  house  of  one  of  my 
private  friends,  who  had  given  me  the  news.  He  had 
died  on  his  return  from  town,  and,  as  his  host  wanted 
to  oblige  me  and  himself  as  well,  because  I  had  pro- 
mised  him  that,  if  he  was  able  to  discover  anything 
vvhich  I  could  ask  for,  we  would  divide  it  together,  he 
had  hastened  to  me  without  losing  a  moment.  I 
therefore  knew  that  nobody  could  be  aware  of  what 
I  had  just  announced  to  the  Cardinal,  which  making 
me  divine  his  evil  intention,  "  Monseigneur,"  said  I,  "you 
accused  the  French  sorae  days  ago  of  being  great 
cowards  ;  allow  me  to  tell  you,  no  matter  what  interest 
you  may  take  in  the  nation  which  I  now  hâve  to  indict 
before  your  Eminence,  that  the  Italians  are  great 
rascals.  Dom  Lopes'  landlord,  who  is  a  countryman 
of  yours,  has  this  moment  told  me  that  his  tenant  has 
just  fallen  dead  in  his  rooms,  and  that  he  had  at  once 
set  off  to  come  and  let  me  know,  after  having  ordered 
his  wife  not  to  divulge  a  word  of  this  news  to  any- 
one,  before  I  should  hâve  spoken  to  you  about  it. 
Nevertheless,  your  Eminence  clearly  perceives  how 
impudently  he  has  lied  to  me,  since  you  are  not  only 
already  informed  as  to  this  death,  but  further,  the 
favour  he  urged  me  to  go  and  beg  of  you  is  also  granted 
to  someone." 

The  Cardinal,  when  he  had  heard  me  accuse  his 
nation  of  rascality,  had  blushed,  either  from  anger  or 
shame.     He  had  believed,  as  many  others  in  his  place 


84  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

would  hâve  done,  and  as  indeed  was  the  truth,  that 
my  words  only  referred  to  himself,  but,  being  delighted 
at  the  ending  I  had  just  given  to  them,  he  repHed  that 
he  was  not  surprised  that  the  Abbé  Undedei,  who  was 
the  man  who  had  asked  him  for  this  "  confiscation," 
should  hâve  had  news  oî  it  sooner  than  myself.  My 
ItaHan,  added  he,  had  done  for  another  ItaHan  what 
he  did  not  think  he  ought  to  do  for  a  Frenchman. 
This  was  natural  enough,  but  even  had  it  not  been  the 
case,  he  would  not  venture  to  maintain  that  there  were 
not  rascals  of  his  nation  just  as  well  as  of  others.-  In 
ail  countries  there  were  good  and  bad  people.  Ail  the 
same,  he  was  sorry  that  this  had  happened  exactly  to 
my  préjudice,  but  another  occasion  would  be  found  to 
oblige  me  when  I  least  expected  it,  and  a  better  one 
perhaps  than  this  was. 

The  abbé  he  meant  was  a  man  who,  to  depict  him 
as  he  really  was,  served  him  as  trustée  in  many  things. 
He  already  had  several  bénéfices  in  his  name,  and 
whenever  there  was  some  windfall  Hke  this,  which  he 
did  not  wish  to  appear  to  enrich  himself  with,  he 
immediately  gave  it  to  him.  He  knew  very  well  that 
Vie  would  return  it,  and  that,  thus  escaping  the  public 
hatred,  he  would  none  the  less  hâve  what  he  wanted. 
This  abbé,  who  was  in  the  secret,  was  always  quite 
ready  to  déclare  that  he  had  asked  the  Cardinal  for 
anything,  although  often  he  had  not  heard  a  word 
about  it.  I  therefore  calculated  that  it  would  be 
useless  for  me  to  question  him  on  the  subject,  the 
more  so  as,  even  where  he  in  a  mood  (which  he  was 
not)  to  confess  the  whole  thing,  I  should  not  hâve  got 
much  good  by  so  doing.  What  was  said  was  said, 
and  the  Cardinal  was  not  the  man  to  retract  the  words 


MEMOIRS    OF  D'ARTAGNAN  85 

he  had  spoken,  since  his  interests  were  concerned. 
In  the  meantime,  his  Eminence,  being  afraid  that  I 
should  not  stop  there,  and  that  I  should  ask  him  the 
truth,  thought  he  ought  to  warn  him.  He  instructed 
him  as  to  what  had  happened  with  référence  to  myself, 
and  that,  were  I  by  chance  to  speak  of  it,  he  must  not 
fail  to  put  me  on  the  wrong  scent,  as  he  himself  had 
done.  He  told  him  further,  that  I  was  in  a  great  rage 
with  the  landlord  of  Dom  Lopes,  and  that  I  believed 
that  he  had  deceived  me  ;  consequently,  he  was  to 
confirm  me  in  this  idea,  because,  in  spite  of  its  being 
an  unimportant  matter  that  he  should  justify  himself 
to  me,  or  let  me  believe  ail  I  liked,  yet,  as  it  was 
always  a  good  thing  to  possess  the  esteem  of  everybody 
and  especially  when  it  cost  but  a  few  words,  he  thought 
proper  to  use  his  best  endeavours.  The  abbé  had 
been  to  see  Dom  Lopes  several  times  at  the  house 
where  he  died,  and  knowing  that  his  landlord  was  not 
an  Italian,  as  I  had  declared  to  the  Cardinal,  (but  as  I 
had  been  pleased  to  tell  him,  to  give  some  outlet  to 
my  resentment),  he  replied  that  my  daring,  in  having 
presumed  to  speak  as  I  had  done,  had  been  unequalled. 
What  I  had  said  about  his  nation,  I  had  meant  to  tell 
him  about  himself.  For  a  young  fellow  like  myself, 
this  was  the  height  of  insolence,  and,  if  he  would 
listen  to  him,  he  would  banish  me  far  away  from  the 
Court.  This  would  teach  me  my  duty  another  time, 
and  respect  towards  those  whose  due  it  was.  The 
Cardinal  did  not  trouble  so  much  about  any  affronts 
which  might  be  put  upon  him  as  about  his  private 
interests.  I  had  spoken  to  him,  some  days  before, 
about  a  post  which  he  had  to  sell,  and  for  which  I  had 
found  a  bargainer  who  wanted  to  give  him  ten  thousand 


86  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

francs  more  than  other  people  offered  ;  thinking,  there- 
fore,  that  he  might  very  well  miss  this  stroke  of  business, 
if  he  let  loose  his  anger  as  he  was  advised  to  do,  he 
made  reply  to  the  abbé,  that  there  were  certain  things 
which  a  minister  ought  to  prétend  to  ignore,  and  others 
which  he  could  not  pass  over  in  silence  without  im- 
perilHng  his  authority.  Those  which  he  might  prétend 
to  ignore  were  principally  when  admission  of  a  know- 
ledge  of  them  was  a  proof  of  one's  bad  faith.  He  could 
not,  said  he,  hâve  me  exiled  without  everyone's  knowing 
the  reason.  I  myself  would  be  the  first  to  tell  every- 
body,  and,  the  matter  being  in  no  way  to  his  advantage, 
it  was  better  to  prétend  ignorance  than  to  purchase 
satisfaction  by  the  loss  of  one's  réputation.  The  abbé 
(who  was  a  man  of  the  very  character  which  the 
Cardinal  had  painted  our  nation  to  me  as  possessing), 
hearing  him  speak  like  this,  thought  it  best  not  to 
reply.  He  agreed  to  everything  he  wished,  and,  the 
better  to  pay  him  court,  told  him  that  by  this  he  was 
showing  himself  worthy  of  the  position  he  occupied, 
and  that,  even  in  the  smallest  things,  he  shone  beyond 
anything  he  could  express.  Finally,  he  declared  his 
reasoning  to  be  so  clever  and  subtle,  that  he  had  not  the 
least  Word  to  urge  against  ail  that  he  had  propounded. 
It  had  not  been  the  fault  of  the  abbé,  as  we  hâve  just 
seen,  that  I  had  not  been  hopelessly  ruined  ;  for,  when 
one  is  once  banished  from  Court,  and  especially 
through  such  a  thing  as  this,  it  is  very  rare  that  a 
person  can  ever  return.  My  own  good  luck,  or  rather 
the  avarice  of  his  Eminence  had  saved  me  ;  but,  as 
there  are  people  who,  when  they,  so  to  speak,  stab 
you,  want  you  to  be  grateful  to  them,  this  abbé  told 
me   two   days  later   at  Court,  whcre  I   found  myself 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  87 

alone  with  him,  that  he  advised  me  to  thank  him,  for, 
had  he  been  less  my  friend  than  he  was,  he  might 
hâve  done  me  a  terribly  bad  turn  with  the  Cardinal. 
I  was  quite  unable,  at  first,  to  understand  what  his 
meaning  might  be.  I  did  not  suspect  that  his 
Eminence  had  told  him  of  what  I  had  said  ;  so, 
begging  him  to  let  me  know  in  what  way  he  had 
served  me,  so  that  my  gratitude  might  be  proportion- 
ate  to  the  good  he  had  done  me,  he  replied  that  it 
was  ail  very  well  for  me  to  prétend  not  to  know,  but 
I  was  not  so  ignorant  as  I  wished  to  appear.  I  must 
remember  that  I  had  passed  o£f  the  landlord  of  Dom 
Lopes  as  an  Italian.  There  was  no  need  to  say  any 
more,  for  my  natural  quickness,  which  he  well  knew, 
would  not  now  make  it  a  difficult  thing  for  me  to 
divine  everything  else  !  I  certainly  did  now  guess 
what  had  happened,  at  least  a  portion  of  it — but  not 
ail  of  it  as  it  had  occurred  ;  for,  had  I  done  so,  I 
should  not  hâve  failed  to  thank  the  abbé  for  the  trick 
he  had  tried  to  play  me.  This  he  richly  deserved; 
for,  after  having  wanted  to  ruin  me  as  he  had 
attempted  to  do,  he  wished  in  addition,  that  I  should 
thank  him  for  not  having  done  so  !  I  will  let  the 
world  judge  after  this,  if  I  was  wrong  in  accusing  his 
nation  of  rascality  ;  and,  even  had  it  not  already  been 
suspected  of  it  (as  it  was),  his  conduct  alone  was 
enough  to  give  it  such  a  réputation.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
being  not  only  unaware  to  what  extent  he  deserved  to 
be  despised  and  scorned,  but  even  believing,  as  he 
wished  me  to  do,  that  I  owed  him  a  debt  of  gratitude, 
I  praised  him  as  he  was  very  far  from  deserving. 
Nevertheless,  as  I  knew  his  dévotion  to  the  person  of 
the  Cardinal,  I  took  good  care  not  to  show  my  irrita- 


88  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

tion  before  him,  as  I  might  perhaps  hâve  done  before 
anyone  else.  On  the  contrary,  I  told  him  that  the 
words  of  which  his  Eminence  had  had  reason  to  com- 
plain  had  escaped  me  thoughtJessly,  and  that  I  had  not 
been  long  in  feeling  sorry  I  had  uttered  them,  since 
they  had  no  sooner  left  my  lips,  than  I  would  hâve 
wished  for  many  reasons  to  hâve  recalled  them. 

I  deemed  it  best  to  speak  thus  in  a  moderate  way 
before  him,  although  I  really  still  thought  what  I  had 
told  the  minister.  I  continued  to  see  the  Cardinal  as 
usual,  well  knowing  that  I  must  not  give  way  to  my 
angry  feelings  to  such  an  extent  as  to  do  myself  harm 
by  discontinuing  to  pay  him  court.  He  spoke  afresh 
to  me  of  the  bargain  I  had  tried  to  make  for  him,  in 
which  rather  an  obstacle  had  arisen.  The  individual 
who  wanted  the  post,  which  he  wished  to  sell,  was  a 
young  man  of  great  expectations,  whose  mother  was 
still  alive.  She  was  the  widow  of  a  conseiller  of  the 
Parlement,  and  as  she  would  hâve  much  preferred  him 
to  embrace  his  father's  profession  than  become  a 
hanger-on  of  the  Court,  she  had  had  her  son  informed 
that  she  would  disinherit  him  and  would  even  marry 
again  herself,  should  he  not  do  her  bidding.  I  told 
the  Cardinal  of  what  was  going  on,  and  as  his  own 
interests  were  concerned,  he  became  very  alert.  "  Ail  of 
you,"  said  he  to  me,  "  are  always  looking  for  people  to 
give  you  advice,  which  most  frequently  kills  your  soûl 
and  body  by  making  you  pursue  shadows.  Not 
one  out  of  a  hundred  of  thèse  pièces  of  advice 
succeeds,  but  what  will  you  give  me  if  I  bestow  a 
pièce  on  you  which  will  make  your  fortune  ?"  I  could 
not  divine  what  he  meant  by  this,  and  finding  that  it 
bore  no  référence  to  the  conversation  we  were  having, 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  89 

it  appeared  queer  to  me  that  a  man  who,  in  such  a 
position  as  his,  should  be  an  example  of  wisdom  and 
prudence,  should  diverge  from  his  subject  to  such  an 
extent  as  to  make  those  discussing  it  with  him  lose 
sight  of  it.  Accordingly,  not  being  able  to  conceal  my 
astonishment,  but  doing  so  in  respectful  terms,  and 
ones  which  could  not  draw  upon  me  the  treatment  the 
Abbé  Undedei  had  recommended,  he  replied  that  I 
was  no  Gascon  ;  I  must  hâve  been  changed  at  nurse, 
for  the  Gascons  had  a  keener  pénétration  than  I,  who 
had  not  only  not  even  dreamt  of  what  he  now  wanted 
to  tell  me,  but  who  yet  did  not  understand  it,  though 
it  ought  to  appear  as  clear  as  daylight  to  me. 

No  sooner  did  I  hear  the  Cardinal  reproach  me  thus, 
than  I  began  to  carefully  ponder  over  what  he  could 
mean  by  ail  this.  But,  being  obliged  to  admit  my 
ignorance  in  spite  of  ail  my  thinking,  "  Poor  man," 
rejoined  he,  '*  go  and  hide  yourself,  since  you  do  not 
understand  that  what  I  want  to  tell  you  is,  that  what 
you  ought  to  do  is  to  marry  that  widow  and  profit  by 
this  présent  chance  of  making  your  fortune.  Go  and 
see  her  from  me,  and  tell  her  that  I  beseech  her  to 
agrée  to  her  son's  treating  with  me  about  the  post  I 
want  to  sell  him  ;  further,  that  he  will  be  sent  back  to 
school,  if  ever  he  présents  himself  for  a  councillorship  ; 
that  he  himself  has  owned  to  you  that,  instead  of 
going  to  study  law,  his  only  care  has  been  to  go  and 
play  tennis  and  haunt  the  taverns.  Tell  her  that  this 
is  a  bad  disposition  out  of  which  to  make  a  good 
judge,  and  that,  consequently,  she  must  not  mind 
seeing  him  adopt  a  career  in  which  he  will  succeed 
better  than  in  the  one  she  wishes  him  to  embrace. 
You  may  add  that   I   am  ready  to  grant  her  my  pro- 


go  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

tection  and  also  be  useful  to  her  when  occasion  may 
arise."  The  Cardinal  went  on  to  say  that  I  must  put 
on  my  smartest  clothes  to  pay  this  visit.  As  the 
widow  vvas  already  inclined  to  remarry,  if  her  son  took 
this  post  (or  most  probably  this  was  but  a  pretext  she 
was  making  use  of  to  avoid  unfavourable  criticism),  I 
should  soon  make  an  impression  upon  her.  People 
should  help  themselves,  if  they  wanted  to  make  their 
fortunes,  for  good  luck  did  not  always  corne  to  look 
for  those  in  need  of  it  !  He  jokingly  added  that 
he  asked  for  no  fee  for  his  advice,  except  the  arrang- 
ing  of  his  bargain. 

I  considered  that  he  was  not  now  reasoning  too 
badly,  and  having  promised  that  I  would  follow  his 
advice,  I  dressed  myself  as  smartly  as  possible  and  went 
to  see  the  widow.  She  listened  to  the  speech  I  made 
her  on  behalf  of  his  Eminence  in  accordance  with  his 
instructions,  and  at  once  answered  me  that,  although 
she  would  much  like  to  please  him,  she  could,  neverthe- 
less,  not  do  so  now.  She  could  not  sanction  her  son's 
abandoning  the  profession  of  his  father  ;  if  even  he  did 
so,  I  might  tell  him  she  would  at  once  marry  again. 
Thèse  words  were  not  lost  on  me.  I  rejoined  that,  as 
it  was  more  right  to  side  with  fathers  and  mothers 
against  their  children  than  with  children  against 
fathers  and  mothers,  I  presented  myself  to  her  to 
carry  out  her  revenge  ;  her  son  was  most  certainly 
resolved  to  go  his  own  way  in  this  affair,  no  matter 
what  obstacles  she  might  place  in  his  path  ;  so,  if  she 
wanted  to  make  him  quickly  repent  of  his  foolish 
behaviour,  she  could  not  lind  any  man  who  would 
embrace  her  interests  so  ardently  as  myself.  At  the 
same   time,    I   told    her    a    lot   of  things    about   her 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  gi 

beauty   which,  as   a   matter  of  fact,    was    not   great. 
In  former  years,  indeed,  she  might  hâve  been  beautiful, 
for  it  is  a  common  saying  that  "  the  Devil  was  hand- 
some  as  a  young  man."    Nevertheless,  I  did  not  approve 
of  this  comparison  ;  but,  if  it  bas  been  made,  it  is  only 
to  impress  upon  us  that  what  one  may  find  ugly  at  a 
certain  time  need  not  always  bave  been  so.     Indeed, 
as  this  lady  had  a  son  of  from  twenty-five  to  twenty-six 
years  old,  and  as  the  mother  of  such  a  son  can  no 
longer  lay  claim  to   be   a  beauty,   at  least  with  any 
chance  of  being  beheved,  she  might  well  bave  told  me 
to  go  and  pour  out  my  stories  somewhere  else,  had  she 
chanced  to  be  in  a  mood  to  do  herself  justice.     Never- 
theless, whether  the  Cardinal  had  hit  the  right  nail  on 
the  head,  when  he  had  told  me  that  she  only  wanted 
some  pretext  to  marry,  or  that  I  seemed  to  her  none 
too  badly  made  and  so  aroused  her  desires,  she  did  not 
remonstrate  against  my  offers  so  severely  as  to  give 
me  grounds  for  despair.     On  the  contrary,  she  softened 
like  a  woman  who  would  bave  much  liked  me  to  be 
speaking  the  truth.     She  did  not  of  course  tell  me  this, 
but,   as   there   are  things  which  one   understands  by 
silence  just  as  well  as  if  they  were  formally  explained, 
I  made  no  fuss  about  asking  permission  to  pay  her  a 
second    visit.      This    she   consented   to,   without   my 
being  obhged  to  be   too  pressing — a  further  circum- 
stance  which  made   me  perceive  that   my  affair  was 
going  on  none  too  badly. 

In  the  meantime,  she  wanted  to  know  who  I  was. 
I  satisfied  her  curiosity,  and  noticed  that  she  was 
enchanted  when  I  had  told  her  my  name,  and  that  I 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Guards.  Apparently  she  had 
been  afraid  that    I    was   some  adventurer,  a  kind    of 


92  ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

person  who  abounded  around  his  Eminence.  This 
made  our  conversation  last  some  time,  and,  seeing 
that  she  was  taking  an  interest  in  it,  I  told  her  every- 
thing  I  could,  to  give  her  a  good  opinion  of  my  rank 
and  myself.  Not  that  it  is  ever  seemly  for  a  man  to 
praise  himself,  it  had  much  better  corne  from  some- 
one  else  than  oneself  ;  however,  I  deemed,  if  ever  such 
a  thing  was  pardonable,  that  it  was  so  on  the  présent 
occasion.  Indeed,  I  acted  thus  much  less  from  vanity 
than  to  disabuse  her  of  any  idea  which  might  be 
harmful  to  me.  I  was  afraid  of  her  confusing  me 
with  the  mass  of  rogues,  who  entirely  filled  the  house 
of  his  Eminence,  and,  if  once  I  allowed  her  to  get  this 
idea  into  her  head,  it  would  afterwards  hâve  been 
difficult  for  me  to  change  her  opinion.  She  received 
what  I  said  in  my  own  praise  very  well,  and,  taking  it 
in  the  same  spirit  in  which  I  spoke,  that  is  to  say,  as 
simply  a  proof  that  I  was  a  gentleman,  and  not  an 
innkeeper,  hke  the  man  I  hâve  before  spoken  of,  she 
asked  me  that  very  day  if  I  would  not  buy  a  company 
in  the  Guards,  directly  I  got  the  money  to  do  so.  To 
be  asked  a  thing  like  this  at  a  first  interview  was 
getting  on  well  !  Mayhap,  she  would  hâve  done 
better  to  hâve  shown  more  reserve.  For,  although 
this  does  not  mean  much,  and  she  might  even  hâve 
said  it  from  indifférence,  as  there  are  certain  things 
in  which  a  lady  ought  to  be  extremely  circumspect, 
she  should  weigh  even  her  lightest  words,  since  it 
is  not  the  only  thing  for  her  to  be  virtuous,  if  she 
does  not  further  keep  herself  quite  free  from  sus- 
picion. 

Having  parted  as  I   hâve  described,  I  told  her  son, 
whom  I  had  informed  that  I  was  to  see  him  on  behalf 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  93 

of  the  Cardinal,  what  answer  she  had  given  me  about 
his  affairs.  At  the  same  time,  I  enquired  of  him  if  he 
vvas  resolved  to  displease  her  and  so  expose  himself 
to  what  she  threatened.  He  rejoined  that,  provided 
M.  le  Cardinal  would  grant  him  the  honour  of  his 
protection,  he  would  not  pay  any  attention  to  such  a 
trifling  matter.  His  mother  would  get  over  her  rage 
when  she  saw  that  matters  were  settled,  and  even  did 
she  go  so  far  as  to  marry  again,  he  would  console 
himself  as  other  children  did  when  the  same  thing 
happened.  I  considered  this  a  very  youthful  reply. 
His  mother  had  at  least  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand 
livres  as  income  and,  although  I  hâve  never  been 
accused  of  being  too  fond  of  money,  I  yet  deemed  that 
he  would  hâve  been  doing  much  better  to  be  a  plain 
conseiller  in  the  last  *'  Présidial  "  of  the  kingdom  than 
lose  such  a  fine  establishment.  However,  his  désire 
was  so  great  that  he  proceeded  to  say,  that  not  only 
was  he  determined  to  do  what  he  told  me,  but  further 
to  give  his  Eminence  a  thousand  pistoles  more  than 
he  had  offered,  so  as  to  secure  his  protection  when 
there  should  be  need  of  it.  This  was  attacking  the 
Cardinal  in  his  weak  spot,  and  being  delighted  to 
pay  him  my  court  by  letting  him  know  this  news, 
which  would  please  him  as  much  as  if  he  had  great 
need  of  the  money,  he  entreated  me  with  clasped 
hands,  so  to  speak,  not  to  let  this  opportunity  slip. 
At  the  same  time  he  told  me,  the  more  to  encourage 
me,  that  I  did  not  know  what  I  owed  him.  I  at 
once  thought  that  he  must  hâve  asked  the  Queen  for 
something  for  me,  and  as  one  is  naturally  curions  in 
such  a  pass,  I  pressed  him  so  much  to  let  me  know 
what  he  meant,   that   at   last   he   could   not   prevent 


94  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

himself  from  telling  me  that,  had  he  been  willing  to 
listen  to  the  Abbé  Undedei,  he  would  hâve  banished 
me  far  from  his  side.  This  speech  was  one  to  give 
me  an  even  worse  opinion  of  the  Italians  than  before. 
I  remembered  that  the  abbé  had  taken  care  to  imply 
to  me  that  he  had  not  desired  my  ruin,  and  that  on 
the  contrary  he  had  tried  to  save  me.  Meanwhile, 
I  learned  that,  far  from  matters  having  happened  as  he 
had  described,  he  had  done  his  best  to  get  me  exiled, 
from  which  circumstance  I  concluded  that  I  had 
not  been  far  wrong  when  I  formed  the  opinion  that 
dissimulation  and  treachery  were  the  appanage  of 
people  of  his  nation. 

I  made  the  best  excuses  I  could  to  the  Cardinal, 
and  the  thousand  pistoles  which  I  gave  him  hopes  of 
beyond  his  expectations  having  rendered  me  white  as 
snow  in  his  estimation,  I  do  not  know  that  I  might 
not  even  hâve  got  the  abbé  banished,  had  I  cared 
to  ask  for  such  a  thing.  Eventually  we  separated 
mutually  pleased  with  one  another,  I  because  he 
promised  me  never  again  to  think  of  the  words  which 
I  had  let  slip,  he  because  I  had  impressed  upon  him 
that  he  might  count  upon  the  thousand  pistoles  not 
escaping  him.  I  now  set  to  work  to  see  that  the 
matter  was  carried  through.  In  the  meantime,  as, 
whilst  serving  others,  it  was  not  right  that  I  should 
forget  myself,  I  went  again  to  see  the  widow,  by  whom 
I  was  even  better  received  than  on  my  first  visit. 
She  now  spoke  plain  French  to  me,  and  I,  on  my 
part,  having  spoken  afresh  of  the  plan  I  had  of 
participating  in  the  revenge  she  wanted  to  take  on 
her  son,  she  asked  me  straight  if  she  might  rely 
upon  my  word.     I  answered  that  she  was  wronging 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  95 

me  and  herself  as  well,  if  she  entertained  any  doubts 
about  this.  I  was  glad  to  let  her  know  that  I  had 
never  deceived  anyone,  not  even  my  enemies.  This 
was  my  character.  Besides,  she  ought  to  know  herself 
well  enough  to  be  aware  that  not  only  was  she  capable 
of  arousing  desires  but  also  of  setting  them  in  a  blaze. 
Consequently,  I  was  already  consumed  by  ardour  to 
see  my  fortunes  united  to  her  own  by  bonds  which 
could  never  be  broken.  This  might  be  settled  whenever 
she  pleased,  and  I  hoped  that  it  would  be  to-day  rather 
than  to-morrow. 

This  speech  did  not  fail  to  touch  her,  at  least  I 
had  reason  to  think  so  from  the  answer  she  gave  me. 
She  told  me  that,  if  things  were  as  I  said,  I  might 
rely  on  soon  being  a  captain  in  the  Guards  ;  she  had 
the  money  quite  ready  to  buy  me  a  company  and  to 
procure  for  me  an  even  greater  position,  if  I  was  not 
satisfied  with  a  captaincy.  I  was  delighted  to  hear 
her  speak  so.  For  a  long  time  now  I  had  ardently 
wished  for  a  post  of  this  kind.  Several  times  already 
I  had  spoken  to  his  Eminence  on  the  subject,  and 
he,  not  being  any  more  backward  at  promising  than 
had  always  been  his  wont,  had  at  once  replied  that 
it  should  be  done  directly  he  saw  an  opportunity. 
This  opportunity  had  presented  itself  some  time 
afterwards,  a  company  having  chanced  to  be  vacant, 
but,  as  he  had  found  there  was  some  money  to  be 
got,  he  had  remembered  me  no  more  than  if  I  had 
been  nonexistent  or  if  he  had  never  made  me  any 
promise.  I  had  thought  fit  to  remind  him  of  my 
interest  in  the  matter,  but  the  only  answer  he  had 
given  me  was,  that  "  what  was  delayed  was  not  lost." 
Thèse   six   words    had    made    me   patient,    but   since 


96  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

then  he  had  again  dealt  with  two  or  three  of  thèse 
companies  under  my  very  nose,  just  as  if  what  he 
had  told  me  was  but  a  regular  dream.  So,  as  I  no 
longer  rehed  upon  him,  my  joy  at  seeing  myself  in 
such  a  fair  way  to  dispense  with  his  protection  was 
great  in  the  extrême,  since  such  small  confidence  could 
be  placed  in  his  statements.  I  hoped,  as  indeed  I 
had  reason  to  do,  that  this  pleasure  would  not  fail 
to  be  mine,  now  that  I  was  about  to  hâve  some 
money.  I  had,  if  I  may  say  so,  done  my  duty  with 
some  distinction.  This  had  given  me  a  reason  for 
pressing  him  more  than  I  should  hâve  done,  had  I 
felt  that  I  had  been  lacking  in  it.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  thinking  now  only  of  settling  my  marriage,  so 
as  soon  to  see  myself  happy  in  getting  what  I  had 
so  long  desired,  I  went  to  see  the  widow  every  day 
with  much  assiduity  and  was  every  moment  received 
more  agreeably  than  I  had  been  at  the  commencement 
of  our  intimacy. 

Meanwhile,  her  son's  affairs  were  settled,  and,  either 
because  he  had  up  to  that  time  imagined  that  my  visits 
to  his  mother  were  only  on  his  own  account,  or  because 
his  anxiety  to  obtain  the  post  he  was  seeking  made  him 
incapable  of  thinking  of  anything  except  that  which 
could  facilitate  his  schemes,  he  had  as  yet  taken  no 
offence  whatever,  or  if  he  had  done  so,  had  been  un- 
willing  to  show  any  signs  of  it.  Now,  however,  having 
nothing  further  to  désire  in  that  quarter,  he  began  to 
consider  that,  property  being  an  excellent  thing  and 
what  one  could  not  do  without,  it  woulà  be  a  very  bad 
move  to  let  his  mother's  slip  out  of  his  hands.  For  this 
reason,  closely  observing  the  attentions  which  I  began 
to   pay   her,  he  became  so  uneasy  that  he  no  longer 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  97 

slept  day  nor  night.  He  might  hâve  said  something  to 
me  about  it  and  taken  a  high  hand  with  me,  in  the  way 
one  usually  does  in  thèse  sort  of  cases.  For,  although 
duels  still  continued  to  be  forbidden  with  much 
stringency,  pcople  did  not  fail  to  occasionally  évade 
the  prohibition  and  to  fight  as  much  as  ever.  Regu- 
larly  appointed  meetings  were  passed  off  as  chance 
encounters.  However,  either  because  he  was  such  a 
good  servant  of  the  King  as  not  to  like  to  contravene 
his  orders,  or  because  he  deemed  me  more  inchned 
to  do  mischief  than  himself,  far  from  proceeding  to 
such  extremities,  he,  on  the  contrary,  told  me  that  he 
was  not  sorry  that  I  was  about  to  become  his  step- 
father,  for  he  clearly  perceived  that  his  mother  was 
bent  on  committing  the  folly  of  marrying  again,  and, 
as  this  was  the  case  and  it  was  not  in  his  power  to 
prevent  it,  he  was  ready  to  bestow  his  bénédiction 
upon  both  of  us. 

He  made  this  speech  to  me  in  such  an  airy  manner, 
that  I  thought  there  was  no  déception  in  what  he  said. 
I  consequently  did  not  scruple  not  only  to  embrace 
him,  but  to  déclare  besides,  that,  as  he  was  behaving 
like  this,  I  should  always  live  on  such  good  terms  with 
him  and  such  friendly  ones,  that  he  would  hâve  no 
reason  to  regret  his  kindly  view  of  our  courtship.  I 
was  well  aware  that  both  his  mother  and  myself  were 
quite  free  to  do  as  we  liked,  but  being  of  a  disposition 
which  preferred  to  be  at  peace  with  the  whole  world,  I 
was  highly  delighted  at  the  course  which  his  reason 
and  natural  good  sensé  had  caused  him  to  adopt  at 
the  présent  juncture.  Everybody  was  not  always 
ready  to  do  themselves  justice  like  this,  and  he  would 
do   much  better  than   if  he  had  behaved   in  another 

VOL.    II  7 


gS  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAM 

way.  I  would  ask  him  only  for  a  little  time  in  which 
to  prove  this  truth  to  him,  and  the  only  judge  of  it 
I  should  seek  would  be  himself. 

His  mother  was  informed  by  me  of  what  he  had 
said.     She  was  just  as  pleased  as  I  myself,  so  much  so 
that,  at  once  forgiving  him  for  his  disobedience  in  con- 
sidération of  his  récent  gracious  behaviour,  we  both 
fixed  the  next  Monday  as  the  day  for  our  marriage. 
We   ordered  our   clothes  in  view   of  this   event,  and 
having  pubhshed  the  banns  on  the  Sunday,  we  were 
ready  for  our  betrothal  the  same  day,  so  as  to  com- 
plète  our   marriage   on  the   morrow,   when   the   curé 
of  St.  Eustache,  in  whose  parish  she  lived,  came  to  tell 
us  that   an   objection   had    been    made.      This   news 
surprised  both  of  us,  but  not  each  of  us  to  the  same 
extent.     As  I  was  not  thoroughly  posted  as  to  this 
lady's  mode  of  life,  and  had  taken  more  care  to  make 
enquiries   about    her    property   than    about    anything 
else,  my  first  idea  was  that  she  had  had  an  intrigue 
with  someone  who  was  just  as  anxious  to  win  her  as 
I  was.     This  cooled  me  down   considerably,   and   at 
once  perceiving  it,  no  sooner  had  the  curé  taken  his 
leave,  than  she  glanced  at  me  without  daring  to  say 
a  Word.     This  news  had  as  it  were  prostrated  her,  so 
much  so  (especially  when  she  saw  my  face)  that  she 
had  not  even  asked  the  divine  who  it  was  that  was 
raising  this  opposition.      The  curé   for   his  part  had 
thought  it  most  discreet  to  tell  her  nothing,  believing 
her  to  know  enough  about  it  not  to  need  enlightenment. 
He  was  afraid  of  causing  her  to  blush,  and  that  she 
would  be  obliged  to  cast  down  her  eyes  in  my  prés- 
ence.    He  knew  thèse  things  were  usually  the  sequel 
of  some  love  affair,  and  therefore  he  was   anxious  to 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  gg 

spare  her  the  confusion  which  she  must  especially  feel 
before  me,  because,  to  be  reasonable,  such  a  thing 
could  not  be  agreeable  to  me. 

The  lady  in  her  distress  would  never  bave  broken 
her  silence,  had  I  not  forced   her  to  do  so  by  asking 
what  the  meaning  of  ail  this  was.     She  said,  in  reply, 
that   she   knew    nothing    about    it    at   ail,   but   that 
ail  she  could  tell  me  was,  that  it  was  very  painful  for 
herself,  since   my   expression   showed   clearly   enough 
that    I   suspected  her  of  some  intrigue.     In  spite   of 
this,  she  had  never  had  any  spécial  love  affair  with 
anyone,  either   before  or   after  her   husband's   death. 
Consequently,  she  had  no  reason  whatever  for  expecting 
what   was    now  taking  place.     She  had   always  been 
virtuous,  so   much   so   that   not   only  had   she   never 
given  any  man  grounds  for  opposing  her  banns,  but 
even  for  daring  to  say  that  she  had  ever  uttered  a  word 
to  him  which  could  be  construed  as  an  engagement. 
For  eight  years  now  she  had  been  a  widow,  and  if  I 
liked  to  make  enquiries,  I  should  discover  that  since 
then   she  had  lived  in  such   great  retirement  that  it 
was   an   impossibility   to   accuse   her   of  having   seen 
any   man    who   did  not    belong   to   her   family.     The 
frank  way  in  which  she  spoke  at  once  convinced  me 
that  she  was  not  as  guilty  as  I  had  imagined.     I  had 
at  first  got  some  curious  fancies  into  my  head,  which 
had    obscured    my    understanding  ;     so,    immediately 
ridding  myself  of  thèse  ideas,  I  decided  that  I  ought 
not,  on  account  of  a  false  alarm,  to  abandon  the  hopes 
I  had  formed  of  possessing  her  twenty  thousand  livres 
of  income.      I    therefore   asked    her    pardon   for   my 
suspicions,  telling  her  (to  make  her  the  more  appreciate 
my  return  to   her   allegiance)   that   she   ought   to   be 

7—2 


loo  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

delighted  at  this  occurrence,  since  it  must  demonstrate 
that  not  only  I  did  not  want  to  lose  her,  but  must 
further  convince  her  of  the  confidence  I  should  always 
place  in  what  she  told  me.  She  must  certainly 
now  perceive  that,  after  being  thoroughly  alarmed,  I 
immediately  recovered  at  a  single  word  of  hers.  She 
admitted  that  this  was  true,  but  added  that,  ail  the 
same,  she  did  not  know  whether  she  had  any  great 
cause  to  rejoice  at  it,  for  a  woman  who  fell  into  the 
hands  of  such  a  suspicions  husband  had  every  likelihood 
of  passing  some  evil  hours  with  him.  Jealousy  was  a 
strange  thing,  and  although  people  said  it  was  only 
the  resuit  of  love,  as  it  could  nevertheless  be  but  the 
outcome  of  a  diseased  kind  of  love,  my  moods  were 
not  less  to  be  feared  than  death  itself. 

I  was  not  in  any  way  jealous.  To  be  so,  I  should 
hâve  had  to  hâve  been  in  love,  which  was  very  far 
from  my  case  !  I  was  no  older  than  this  lady's  son, 
and  to  be  fond  of  a  woman  who  might  hâve  been  my 
mother  was  not  the  sort  of  thing  very  much  in  my 
line,  but  I  coveted  wealth  and  a  good  position,  and 
the  news  which  the  curé  of  St.  Eustache  had  brought 
us  having  seemed  to  me  to  announce  the  loss  of  both 
thèse  things  was  what  had  produced  the  particular 
State  of  mind  which  the  lady  had  observed  me  to 
be  in.  Nevertheless,  as  little  by  little  I  began  to  be 
reassured,  I  tried  to  make  my  peace  with  her,  which 
I  succeeded  in  doing  only  with  a  good  deal  of  difficulty. 
This  done,  I  enquired  of  her  from  whom  thèse  objections 
arose,  and  being  no  wiser  than  myself  (having  been 
so  much  affected  as  to  hâve  forgotten  to  ask)  she 
replied  that,  whoever  the  man  was,  he  must  be  an 
impostor.     Her   surprise  at   the  news,  and  above  ail 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  loi 

at  my  réception  of  it  had  prevented  her  from  finding 
out  from  the  curé,  but  as  I  began  to  admit  my  mistake, 
and  she  herself  was  also  beginning  to  regain  her  sensés, 
herses  must  be  put  in  the  carriagc,  and  both  of  us  go 
together  to  find  out  who  was  at  the  bottom  of  ail  this. 

We  did  as  she  wished,  and,  not  finding  the  curé  at 
home,  we  spoke  to  one  of  his  curâtes.  He  told  us  that 
the  objection  arose  from  a  gentleman  named  Le  Bègue 
de  Villaines,  who  was  from  the  province  of  Berri.  This 
gentleman  had  taken  up  his  résidence  at  the  house  of 
an  attorney  called  Harouard,  and  the  latter  would 
probably  give  us  ail  the  information  we  desired.  His 
advice  to  us  was  to  set  out  and  find  him,  for,  if  we 
wanted  to  know  more  than  he  had  just  told  us,  we 
should  hâve  to  enquire  of  others  than  the  curé  and 
himself.  We  thought  fit  to  believe  him,  and  from  his 
house  betook  ourselves  to  the  attorney's,  who  lived 
quite  close  to  Notre-Dame,  just  in  front  of  a  little 
parish  church  there  is  there.  The  widow  had  already 
vowed  to  me,  on  leaving  the  curate's  house,  that  she 
did  not  know  this  M.  de  Villaines,  and  that  she  had 
never  even  heard  him  spoken  of.  On  the  way,  she 
reiterated  the  same  statement  once  more,  which  highly 
delighted  me,  because  I  felt  glad  that  a  lady  whom  I 
desired  to  make  my  wife  should  not  only  be  known  as 
virtuous,  but,  in  addition,  as  being  above  ail  suspicion. 
On  account  of  this,  I  formed  the  opinion  that  it  was 
but  a  joke  someone  had  tried  to  play  us,  and  was 
unable  to  say  if  she  or  I  was  its  intended  victim.  AU 
the  same,  I  could  not  conceive  that  it  could  possibly 
concern  me  ;  I  was  unaware  of  having  any  enemy,  the 
more  so  as  the  whole  of  my  behaviour  had  always 
been  so  circumspect  towards  everybody,  that   it  was 


102  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

easily  seen  that  I  tried  rather  to  please  everyone  than 
to  displease  one  single  soûl. 

Harouard  was  honest  enough  for  a  man  of  his 
profession  (in  which  honest  men  are  very  scarce)  :  con- 
sequently,  we  had  no  sooner  told  him  what  had  brought 
us,  than  he  replied  that  he  did  not  know  this  M.  de 
Villaines.  It  was  however  true,  that  a  handsome 
enough  man,  whom  also  he  did  not  know,  had  that 
morning  corne  to  his  house  to  beg  him  to  take  charge 
of  the  légal  notices  which  might  be  given  to  him 
touching  this  affair.  To  secure  him,  he  had  said  that 
this  business  could  not  fail  to  be  carried  to  the  Parle- 
ment, and  that  M.  de  Villaines  on  the  strength  of  his 
réputation,  had  already  cast  his  eyes  upon  him  to 
défend  his  interests. 

As  ail  this  appeared  to  us  a  regular  plan  to  play  us 
a  joke,  we  asked  this  attorney  what  sort  of  man  was 
he  who  had  corne  to  see  him.  Our  idea  was  to  try 
and  recognise  the  perpetrator  of  this  hoax  from  the 
portrait  he  should  give  us,  so  as  to  thus  find  out  whom 
we  had  to  deal  with.  But,  in  spite  of  his  frankly  telling 
us  ail  he  knew,  the  resuit  was  just  the  same  as  if  he 
had  told  us  nothing  at  ail.  Neither  the  widow  nor 
myself  knew  anyone  who  at  ail  resembled  the  man  he 
described.  The  lady  appealed  to  the  Officialty,  where 
she  was  summoned.  First  of  ail,  she  requested  that 
her  opponent  should  appear  in  person,  taking  an  oath, 
as  she  had  already  done  before  me,  that  she  had  never 
known  this  M.  de  Villaines  nor  anyone  connected  with 
him.  There  was  a  lawyer  at  this  court  who  held  a 
brief  for  the  other  side,  and  who  asked  for  a  month's 
delay  for  his  client  to  appear  in.  His  pretext  was, 
that  not  only  was  his  house  more  than  sixty  leagues 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  103 

from  Paris,  but  that  he  was  also  unwell.  The  judge 
reduced  this  by  half,  and  only  gave  him  a  fortnight. 
This  period  of  time,  which  still  seemed  to  me  a  very 
long  one  (not  on  account  of  my  love,  which  was  very 
moderate,  but  on  account  of  my  impatience  to  know 
who  had  played  us  such  a  trick),  was  hanging  very 
heavily  on  my  hands,  once  the  first  day  was  past, 
when  at  the  end  of  the  week  I  thought  I  descried  the 
man  whose  picture  the  attorney  of  the  Parlement  had 
painted.  He  had  described  him  as  having  a  red 
doublet  embroidered  with  silver,  a  black  wig  and  a 
beaver-hat  of  the  same  colour  with  a  white  feather. 
He  had  besides  told  us  that  he  had  a  tuft  of  blue 
ribbon  on  the  brim  of  his  hat,  as  was  then  the  fashion. 
Passing  over  the  Pont-Neuf  in  asedan-chair,  I  perceived, 
in  the  carriage  of  nxy  future  step-son,  a  man  exactly 
answering  this  description.  This  made  me  rather  sus- 
pect that  it  could  not  but  be  he  who  had  been  to 
Harouard's  house,  and  further,  that  it  was  the  step- 
son  alone  who  had  set  him  to  work.  This  I  told  his 
mother,  whom  I  went  to  see  after  dinner.  She  agreed 
with  my  views,  and  we  mutually  arranged  to  hâve  her 
son  watched,  so  as  to  discover  who  this  "  red  doublet  " 
might  be.  By  thèse  means  we  found  out  that  he  was 
an  adventurer  without  birth  or  réputation,  whose  only 
profession  was  frequenting  gaming-houses.  This  in- 
creased  our  suspicions  :  for,  as  exactly  a  man  of  that 
stamp  was  needed  to  sustain  an  imposture  of  this  kind, 
this  individual  would  be  more  suitable  than  anyone 
else  who  might  hâve  his  own  or  his  family's  réputation 
to  look  to.  The  lady  wanted  me  to  go  and  find  him 
and  threaten  that,  did  he  not  withdraw  from  his 
lawsuit,  I    would   hâve   him  cudgelled  to  death,  but, 


104  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

being  of  opinion  that  she  was  going  a  little  too  fast  to 
follow  her  advice  (for,  far  from  the  matter  being 
cleared  up  as  she  declared  it  was,  I  saw  many  diffîcul- 
ties  ahead),  I  begged  her  to  restrain  her  impatience 
until  such  time  as  our  suspicions  should  be  verified. 
What  puzzled  me  was  that  the  man  did  not  call 
himself  M.  de  Villaines.  He  went  by  the  name  of 
the  Chevalier  de  la  Carlière — a  title  which  apparently 
had  not  cost  him  much — at  ail  events  his  chevalier- 
ship  had  not  been  expensive,  since  they  would  not  even 
hâve  taken  him  at  Malta  as  a  *'  Chevaher  servant."^ 
He  was  only  the  son  of  a  mason,  though,  to  see  him,  one 
would  hâve  said  he  was  that  of  a  Maréchal  of  France. 

We  also  placed  a  spy  at  Harouard's  door,  and  at 
that  of  the  lawyer  of  the  courts,  to  see  whether  the 
man  did  not  go  to  one  or  the  other's  house,  but  this 
spy,  having  done  nothing  but  waste  his  time  and 
trouble,  I  bethought  myself  of  sending  Athos  to  lodge 
in  the  same  hostelry  as  the  chevalier.  First  of  ail  I 
made  him  disguise  himself.  I  hired  for  him  at  an  old 
clothes'  shop  a  black  suit  and  a  mantle  of  the  same 
colour,  and  having  begged  him  to  call  himself  a  lawyer 
whilst  at  the  hostelry,  he  made  a  number  of  litigants 
who  lodged  there  believe  that  he  had  come  specially 
from  Pau  on  account  of  a  lawsuit  with  which  a  com- 
munity  of  that  part  of  the  country  had  entrusted  him. 
This  was  thoroughly  believed  because,  though  he  had 
not  the  appearance  of  a  lawyer,  they  did  not  make 
too  careful  enquiry.  Besides,  people  do  not  always 
look  what  they  are  :  witness  a  certain  referendary 
whom  I  sometimes  see  at  Court,  who  has  as  much 
beard   as   a  guardsman,  and   who  would   look    much 

1  A  "  Chevalier  servant  "  was  'one  who  entered  the  order, 
without  being  able  to  give  proofs  of  being  of  noble  birth. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  105 

better  at  the  head  of  a  régiment  of  cavalry  than  on  the 
"fleurs  de  lis."^  For  everybody  ought  not  only  to  work 
at  his  profession,  but  also  to  hâve  the  appearance  of 
doing  so.  A  beard  does  not  suit  a  magistrate  unless 
it  is  "  à  la  Moignon,  or  à  la  Novion."  A  beard  "  à  la 
Vedeau"  is  more  the  beard  of  a  sentrythanof  a  councillor 
of  the  Parlement,  so  ail  those  people  who  equip  them- 
selves  out  of  their  rôles  take  leave  of  good  sensé  at  the 
same  time.  They  only  get  themselves  laughed  at,  but 
enough  of  beards  :  I  had  much  better  return  to  my 
subject. 

Athos  having  thus  declared  himself  from  Pau,  La 
Carlière,  who  had  no  great  judgment,  at  once  asked 
him  if  he  knew  me.  Probably  he  was  aware  that  I 
came  from  there,  and,  although  he  merely  knew  me 
by  réputation  (and  L  should  not  hâve  been  too  pleased 
to  be  well  known  to  a  man  like  him),  his  eagerness  to 
speak  was  the  cause  of  his  making  this  enquiry. 
Athos,  who  had  as  much  judgment  as  the  other  had 
little,  no  sooner  heard  him  speak  of  me  than  he 
thought  his  trouble  would  not  be  for  nothing.  He 
believed,  I  repeat,  that  I  was  both  right  in  my 
suspicions  and  that  he  himself  would  not  be  long  in 
clearing  up  the  matter.  He  accordingly  replied,  the 
better  to  cause  him  to  fall  into  the  trap,  that,  although 
Bearn  was  not  too  big  a  district,  it  was  impossible  to 
know  everyone  there  ;  that  he  had,  it  was  true,  heard 
talk  of  my  family  and  myself,  but  he  could  not  say 
that  he  knew  me  as  an  acquaintance  without  telling 
a  lie.  He  had  heard,  he  added,  only  two  days  before 
he  had  set  out,  that  I  had  made  a  large  fortune  in 
Paris,  and  that  I  had  married  a  rich  widow,  which 
should   suit  me   well,   since    I    had  no   riches   of  my 

^  On  the  bench. 


io6  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

own.  La  Carlière  rejoined  that  he  did  not  know 
who  had  told  him  this  news,  but  it  was  totally  false. 
The  fortune  I  had  up  to  now  made  was  nothing  in 
particular.  It  was  true  I  was  a  Heutenant  in  the 
Guards,  but  as  for  my  having  married  the  widow  I 
spoke  of,  he  must  scratch  that  out  of  his  bocks. 
He  added  that  he  quite  agreed  I  had  thought  of 
marrying  her,  but  it  had  never  corne  off,  unless  he 
was  very  much  mistaken. 

If  this  chevalier  of  a  new  sort  had  been  imprudent 
in  merely  asking  Athos  if  he  knew  me,  it  was  being 
much  more  so  to  speak  to  him  so  plainly  !  Had  he 
had  the  least  sensé,  he  ought  not  to  hâve  opened  his 
mouth  about  this  matter,  but,  as  he  had  none,  he 
continued  on  his  way,  without  taking  précautions 
against  it  leading  him  over  a  précipice.  Athos, 
without  giving  any  sign  of  anything,  answered  that 
he  could  not  go  bail  for  ail  the  rumours  which  were 
current  in  the  provinces.  He  had  really  believed  in 
that  rumour,  because  he  had  heard  it  at  the  house 
of  the  lieutenant  de  roi  at  Bayonne,  but,  since  he 
declared  it  was  not  true,  he  was  ready  to  trust  him 
rather  than  the  man  who  had  said  so,  for,  being  on 
the  spot  as  he  was,  he  would  know  more  of  the 
matter  than  one  who  was  so  far  away.  His  civility 
pleased  the  chevalier,  and,  from  the  manner  he  spoke, 
thinking  nothing  less  than  that  he  was  on  my  side, 
he  begged  him  to  let  him  know  confidentially  if  I 
were  of  the  family  of  D'Artagnan  as  I  claimed  to  be. 
I  had  agreed  with  Athos  and  the  lady  that,  should 
the  chevalier  by  chance  put  a  question  like  this  to 
him,  he  was  to  tell  him  ail  the  scandalous  things 
possible.     My  idea  was,  that  it  was  the  chevalier  who 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  107 

had  been  to  Harouard  and  that  my  future  son-in-law 
had  made  him  go,  so  ail  this  would  soon  corne  back 
to  his  mother  with  the  object  of  disgusting  her  with 
me.  I  had  consequently  given  Athos  his  lesson  in 
writing,  so  that  it  might  be  reported  to  her  word 
for  word.  It  could  make  no  impression,  for  I  had 
warned  her  beforehand  and  she  had  highly  improved 
of  this  stratagem,  which  indeed  succeeded  admirably. 
Athos,  after  pretending  a  little  shyness,  as  if  he  feared 
being  put  down  as  a  scandalmonger,  told  La  Carlière 
that,  since  he  was  curious  to  discover  my  origin,  no 
one  could  speak  more  positively  about  it  than  himself. 
Eighteen  or  twenty  years  ago  a  lawsuit  had  taken 
place  at  Pau  about  my  genealog}\  At  that  time  he 
was  the  clerk  of  a  lawyer  to  whose  house  ail  the 
papers  had  been  brought  which  had  to  do  with  the 
matter.  His  curiosity  had  led  him  to  carefully  examine 
thèse  papers,  and  either  he  was  a  fool  or  I  was  no 
more  a  gentleman  than  his  valet.  He  now  remembered 
that  I  was  the  grandson  of  a  tinker  who  had  gone 
to  the  wars  and,  having  made  something  of  a  fortune 
there,  had  taken  the  name  and  arms  of  the  family  of 
D'Artagnan. 

La  Carlière,  who  was  the  man  who  had  been  to 
Harouard,  was  delighted  at  this  discovery.  He  had 
been  sent  there  by  the  lady's  son,  as  we  had  suspected  ; 
so,  believing  that  no  sooner  should  she  hear  me  spoken 
of  like  this  than  she  would  not  receive  me  again,  he 
went  to  tell  his  friend  the  news.  I  heard  from  Athos, 
whom  I  secretly  saw  in  a  house  which  I  had  appointed 
as  a  meeting-place,  everything  which  had  passed  at 
the  hostelry.  I  formed  the  same  opinion  as  he  had 
done,  and  at  once  thinking  that  I  should  not  hâve  long 


io8  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

to  wait  to  hear  something  about  it,  my  forecast  soon 
came  off.  The  son  no  sooner  learned  what  I  hâve  just 
recounted,  than  he  had  a  letter  written  to  his  mother 
by  his  confédérale.  It  was  dated  from  Paris,  and 
contained  the  whole  story  of  my  origin  without  one 
syllable  being  omitted.  What  was  besides  a  curious 
thing  about  this  was,  that  the  next  night  the  strangest 
concert  one  ever  heard  speak  of  took  place  in  front  of 
this  lady's  Windows.  Ail  the  whistles  (as  I  believe)  of 
the  tinkers  of  Paris  and  the  suburbs  had  been  borrowed, 
and,  as  the  sounds  extracted  from  them  were  mingled 
with  those  of  a  quantity  of  pans  and  kettles,  the  most 
horrible  music  ever  up  to  that  time  heard  was  produced. 
It  is  true  that  this  is  what  usually  happens,  or  at 
least  a  part  of  it,  at  the  weddings  of  old  people  who 
remarry  young  ones,  but,  as  we  were  not  yet  corne  to 
that,  and  as,  besides,  the  lady  was  not  of  so  décrépit 
an  âge  that  she  was  to  be  thus  coarsely  insulted,  it  was 
easy  for  us  to  perceive  that  this  new  sort  of  rough^ 
music  was  directed  not  so  much  against  her  as  against 
me.  Indeed,  if  some  of  thèse  instruments  were  usually 
to  be  observed  in  ordinary  "  rough  music,"  the  addition 
of  the  whistle  meant  something  mysterious,  and  could 
only  hâve  to  do  with  me. 

No  more  was  necessary  to  make  me  résolve  to  re- 
venge myself  on  a  man  who  made  war  on  me  more  like 
a  fox  than  a  lion,  I  mean  my  future  son-in-law,  who,  under 
the  pretence  of  friendship,  had  fooled  me  so  finely 
that  I  had  been  the  first  to  praise  his  good  qualities  to 
his  mother.  This  was  why  she  had  so  easily  forgiven 
him.     However,  things  having   changed  a  good   deal 

I  "  Rough  music,"  known  in  the  north  of  England  as  "  riding 
the  stang,"  has  not  yet  entirely  disappeared  from  English  village 
life,  and  is  still  occasionally  resorted  to  in  cases  of  unpopularity 
at  bad  behaviour. 


MEMOIRS    OF   D'ARTAGNAN  109 

since  then,  she  was  so  eager  to  sce  him  punished  for 
his  pertidy,  that  she  would  herself  hâve  incited  me  to 
vengeance,  had  she  not  been  afraid  of  outraging  good 
taste  and  natural  feehng  by  so  doing.  I  had,  never- 
theless,  no  need  of  anyone  to  excite  me  against  him. 
I  was  by  nature  an  enemy  to  deceit,  even  if  it  had 
only  someone  else  as  its  object,  and  as  his  treachery 
directly  affected  me,  I  sent  to  find  him,  to  let  him 
know  that  I  wanted  to  eut  his  throat.  I  did  not  dis- 
cover  him  ail  that  day,  either  because  he  feared  some- 
thing,  or  because  he  was  making  préparations  for  a 
terrible  thing  which  he  was  contemplating.  Nor  did 
I  find  him  ail  the  next  day,  without  being  able  to  think 
of  any  other  reason  for  it  than  the  one  I  hâve  given. 
Seeing  my  trouble  wasted,  sorrow  overcame  me  to  such 
an  extent  that,  letting  my  resentment  fall  upon  his 
crony  La  Carlière,  I  regaled  him,  as  he  was  leaving 
Morel's,  with  a  shower  of  blows  from  a  cudgel.  I 
pretended,  by  way  of  excuse,  that  he  had  trodden  on 
my  toes  coming  out  of  that  establishment,  where  the 
game  of  dice  was  played,  and  where  one  always  found 
a  mixed  company,  that  is  to  say,  people  of  quality  and 
scoundrels.  He  could  not  muster  up  courage  to  draw 
his  sword  to  défend  himself,  which  made  me  so  sorry 
for  him  that  I  regretted  having  treated  him  as  I  had 
done.  It  even  seemed  to  me  that  my  honour  was 
tarnished  by  insulting  a  wretch  such  as  he.  So  ceasing 
ail  of  a  sudden  to  thrash  him,  I  told  him  that  he 
must  not  believe  ail  this  was  for  having  trodden  on  my 
toes.  "Ah,"  said  I,  "I  recognise  you,  my  friend,  as 
being  M.  le  Bègue  de  Villianes,  and  not  the  Chevalier 
de  la  Carlière.  The  Chevalier  de  la  Carlière  has  too 
glib  a  tongue  to  let  himself  be  thrashed  without  at 
Icast  abusing  his  aggressor,  but  a  'bègue'  (a  stammerer) 


iio  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

can  no  more  speak  than  a  rascal  do  anything  else  than 
turn  his  back  to  be  beaten,  as  you  bave  done." 

He  was  very  surprised  to  hear  this  speech  of  mine, 
and  as  he  was  already  confused  enough  with  the  blows 
with  which  I  had  regaled  him,  he  tried  to  boit  to  the 
corner  of  the  street,  so  as  to  escape  in  the  direction  of 
the  Hôtel  Salé.  He  had  no  long  way  to  go  to  do  this: 
Morel's  house  was  in  the  "  Marais,"  in  the  Rue  de  la 
Perle,  fifty  paces  at  most  from  the  hôtel  in  question. 
I  do  not  know  if  he  concealed  himself  there,  or  if  he 
went  on,  for  I  did  not  give  myself  the  trouble  of 
following  him.  Be  this  as  it  may,  having  immedi- 
ately  gone  to  describe  to  the  lady  what  I  had  just  done, 
I  told  her  that  her  son  had  acted  wisely  to  avoid  me, 
for  had  I  found  him  when  searching  for  him,  it  had 
been  my  intention  to  see  if  he  was  as  courageous  as  he 
was  crafty  and  evil-speaking.  The  widow  told  me  I 
had  done  well  to  regale  my  chevalier  as  I  had,  which 
would  teach  him  to  be  wiser  another  time,  but  as  such 
a  thing  might  bring  trouble  upon  me,  were  I  to  draw 
sword  upon  her  son,  she  would  beg  me  to  do  nothing 
of  the  sort.  It  was  to  be  hoped  that  the  warning  I  had 
given  his  friend  would  act  as  a  reprimand  to  himself, 
and  if  the  worst  came  to  the  worst,  and  should  he  not 
amend  his  behaviour  of  his  own  accord,  she  would  no 
longer  refrain  from  advising  me  to  bave  no  greater 
considération  for  him  than  I  had  had  for  the  chevalier. 

I  thought  that  this  was  too  much  for  a  mother  and 
a  lady  of  good  family  to  say.  A  lady  iike  this  should 
not  wish  her  son  to  be  treated  as  one  treats  the  riff- 
raff.  But  she  was  so  enraged  at  the  "  rough  music," 
thinking  that  only  old  women  were  treated  in  such  a 
way,  that  she  had  lost  possession  of  herself.     Indeed, 


MEMOIRS  OF   D'ARTAGNAN  m 

it  is  attacking  a  woman  in  her  most  sensitive  quarter 
to  tell  her  such  truths,  so  much  so,  that  she  would 
pardon  her  own  death  as  easily  as  a  joke  of  this  kind, 

Of  ail  the  ways  of  offending  women,  there  is  none 
which  upsets  them  more  than  anything  which  deals 
with  their  âge.  The  more  truth  there  may  be  in  what 
one  says,  the  greater  offence  they  take,  and,  as  this 
lady  was  past  forty,  every  word  which  might  convey 
the  impression  that  she  was  more  than  thirty  was  a 
dagger-thrust  to  her.  For  this  reason,  some  three 
weeks  or  a  month  before,  she  had  wanted  to  scratch 
her  son's  eyes  out,  because  he  used  often  to  come  and 
hum  about  her  ears  a  song  which  at  that  time  was  a 
new  one,  and  which  had  been  composed  for  a  person 
of  about  her  own  âge.     The  words  of  it  were  thèse — 

"  Once  that  sJie's  come  to  forty  y  car, 
A   dame  inust  bid  farewell 
To  love  and  laughter.     Fickle  swains 
No  longer  fear  her  spell. 

"  Careless  of  ancient  loves,  they  fly 
To  seek  some  winsome  lass 
Still  in  her  spring-tide,  bright  of  eye, — • 
Ah  love,  like  time,  must  pass  !  " 

She  had,  nevertheless,  taken  good  care  not  to  let  him 
know  that  her  anger  arose  from  any  idea  that  she 
herself  was  attacked  by  this  ditty.  She  had  pretended 
that  he  sang  badly,  and  that  his  voice  was  no  less 
jarring  upon  her  ears  than  the  most  disagreeable  thing 
in  the  world. 

Our  chevalier  having  thus  been  so  excellently  re- 
galed,  we  were  both  awaiting  the  end  of  the  drama, 
which   he   and   his    friend  had   been    kind  enough  to 


112  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

arrange  for  us,  with  more  patience  than  before,  when 
her  son  played  us  another  thick  which  we  had  been 
far  from  expecting.  As  he  had  money  and  property, 
he  found  a  clerk  of  a  Secretary  of  State,  who,  for  five 
hundred  pistoles,  promised  to  obtain  for  him  a  "  lettre 
de  cachet  "  to  hâve  his  mother  shut  up.  The  steps 
they  took  to  obtain  this  were  thèse.  They  invented 
letters  and  answers  written  by  her  to  a  brother  of  hers 
in  a  foreign  country.  He  had  gone  there  on  account 
of  a  duel  which  had  caused  much  stir  at  Court.  Owing 
to  it,  he  had  forfeited  ail  the  property  of  his  family, 
which  would  hâve  corne  to  him  after  the  death  of  his 
eldest  brother,  who  had  been  referendary  and  had  died 
childless.  Thèse  letters,  by  reason  of  the  way  they 
were  interpreted,  contained  some  référence  to  State 
affairs,  so,  as  more  is  not  necessary  to  ruin  anybody, 
the  "lettre  de  cachet"  was  issued  and  very  cleverly 
made  use  of.  A  jubilee^  occurring  about  this  time, 
the  lady  (who  was  ver}'  pious),  having  left  her  house 
with  only  a  companion  to  go  and  visit  the  churches, 
was  arrested  whilst  leaving  the  Hôtel-Dieu.  As  is 
usual  on  thèse  kind  of  occasions,  she  was  thrown  into 
a  carriage,  and  the  guards,  who  were  too  well  instructed 
as  to  their  duty  to  overlook  anything,  having  made 
the  companion  enter  it,  at  the  same  time  the  blinds  of 
the  carriage  were  pulled  down  and  both  ladies  con- 
ducted  to  the  house  of  the  man  who  had  arrested 
them.  The  leader  of  the  escort  believed  the  lady  to 
be  a  real  criminal,  so,  ail  she  could  say  to  announce 
her  innocence  to  the  minister,  or  to  hâve  letters 
conveyed  to  her  relatives  being  of  no  avail,  he  made 
her  the  next  morning  get  into  a  carriage  drawn  by  six 

I  A  gênerai  indulgence  granted  by  the  Pope. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  113 

horses,  which  was   to   take   her  to   the  prison  which 
had  been  appointée!. 

Her  household  was  very  surprised  when  the  dinner- 
hourarrivedand  they  did  not  see  her  return.  However, 
they  waited  till  two  o'clock  without  being  otherwise 
alarmed.  They  believed  that  piety  had  caused  her  to 
visit  several  churches,  and  that  this  was  the  reason  of 
the  delay.  But  at  last,  three  o'clock  having  struck, 
and  no  news  having  yet  corne  to  hand,  the  servants 
went  to  make  search  at  her  friends',  to  discover 
whether  she  had  not  stayed  to  dinner  with  some  of 
them.  Two  hours  more  having  elapsed  without  their 
being  able  to  find  out  what  had  become  of  her,  and 
the  lackeys  having  returned  home  just  as  wise  as 
when  they  set  out,  the  lady's  servants  began  to  be 
plunged  into  real  trouble  ;  so,  thinking  they  ought  to 
inform  her  son,  the  latter  would  not  come  to  the  house 
without  a  good  escort.  Probably  he  was  afraid  that, 
should  he  go  alone,  he  might  by  chance  meet  me, 
and  that  I  should  treat  him  as  I  had  treated  his  crony. 
This  fear,  besides,  was  the  stronger  because  he 
knew  that  he  had  added  a  fresh  crime  to  his  previous 
one;  so,  as,  after  what  I  had  said  and  done  to  La 
Carlière,  he  was  not  ignorant  that  I  already  knew 
one  of  the  conspirators,  he  had  a  good  idea  that 
I  might  very  well  guess  the  other,  and  therefore  did 
not  think  it  convenient  to  risk  himself  rashly. 

The  escort  he  desired  consisted  of  four  or  five  of 
his  relatives — lawyers  and  men  of  distinction,  to  whom 
he  went  to  announce  the  disappearance  of  his  mother. 
They  were  very  surprised,  as  one  could  not  hâve  failed  to 
be  at  such  a  thing.  They  questioned  him  as  to  what 
he  thought  had    become  of  her,  and  taking  care  not 

VOL.    II  8 


114  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

to  confide  in  them,  since  he  would  havebeen  denouncing 
himself,  he  insinuated  that  I  might  very  well  hâve 
abducted  her.  The  better  to  make  them  believe  this, 
he  told  them  that,  though  on  first  acquaintance  she 
had  passionately  wanted  to  marry  me,  she  had  become 
so  disgusted  since  the  sérénade  I  hâve  just  spoken  of, 
that  he  knew  from  a  good  source  that  she  had  dismissed 
me.  I  had,  however,  said  he,  not  consented  to  accept  this 
dismissal.  Far  from  it,  I  had  returned  as  usual  to 
see  her,  but  had  apparently  met  with  such  small 
success  as  to  hâve  resorted  to  the  violence  of  which 
he  suspected  me  to  be  guilty.  At  the  same  time  he 
explained  to  them  the  mystery  of  the  sérénade,  but, 
as  there  was  one  of  thèse  magistrates  who  had  formerly 
been  Intendant  at  Pau  and  who  knew  my  family,  he 
told  him  to  take  good  care  not  to  spread  this  "  dream  " 
abroad,  for  he  would  make  himself  a  laughing-stock. 
There  was  no  one  who  did  not  know  who  I  was, 
and  when  people  were  so  well  known,  ail  the  slander 
one  might  heap  upon  an  individual  must  recoil  on  the 
head  of  its  originator.  Consequently,  if  his  mother 
should  hâve  become  disgusted  with  me,  such  disgust 
must  hâve  arisen  from  some  other  quarter  than  from 
my  birth,  which  was  more  likely  to  arouse  rather 
than  to  extinguish  her  desires.  Nevertheless,  as  ail 
thèse  gentlemen  were  very  far  from  having  any  idea 
of  his  malice  and  thought  him  an  honourable  man, 
they  resolved  on  lodging  an  ordinary  légal  complaint 
about  the  abduction  of  their  relative  and  to  make 
careful  enquiries  in  ail  the  convents,  if  by  chance  she 
had  not  retired  to  one  of  them  before  taking  any 
further  steps.  However,  ail  their  enquiries  having 
proved    abortive,   they   became   so    carried   away   by 


ME  MOI  R  s   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  tis 

passion,  that  they  presented  a  pétition  to  the  lieutenant 
criminel  for  permission  to  arrest  me. 

The  magistrate  in  question  was  a  very  extraordinary 
man,  which  ail  Paris  knew  him  to  be.  He  never 
refused  a  pétition  when  presented  to  him  accompanied 
by  money.  Should,  however,  this  assistance  be  lacking, 
he  would  examine  pétitions  from  one  end  to  the  other 
and  made  no  exception  in  favour  of  anyone,  whatever 
protection  they  might  hâve  on  their  side.  I  hâve 
forgotten  to  say  that  this  pétition  had  been  preceded 
by  an  information  which  had  been  lodged  against  me. 
My  presumptive  son-in-law  had  caused  ail  the  servants 
of  his  mother  to  be  heard,  but  their  déclaration  having 
rather  exculpated  than  incriminated  me,  the  lieutenant 
criminel  had  told  the  relatives  that,  if  they  wanted 
to  bring  this  matter  to  a  successful  termination,  they 
must  bring  other  witnesses  than  those  who  had  been 
produced.  Indeed,  thèse  had  said  nothing  but  that 
I  had  been  every  day  at  their  mistress's  house,  that  we 
had  eaten  and  drunk  together  very  frequently,  and 
that  she  had,  some  days  before,  ordered  them  to 
treat  me  with  the  same  respect  as  if  I  was  already 
their  master.  I  let  people  imagine  the  effect  of  such 
évidence,  and  if  my  accusers  must  not  hâve  been 
mad  to  try  and  bring  a  suit  against  me  on  such 
grounds  !  The  lady's  son,  when  he  perceived  this, 
had  recourse  to  the  expédient  usually  employed  by 
those  who  wanted  to  gain  this  judge  over  to  their 
side.  He  caused  money  to  be  offered  him,  but  as 
the  magistrate  had,  unluckily  for  him,  learnt  that  I 
had  been  to  M.  le  Cardinal  and  that  he  was  according 
me  his  protection,  instead  of  consenting  to  receive  it, 
he  sent  me  word  that  he  would  much  like  to  speak 

8—2 


lié  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

to  me.  I  was  totally  at  a  loss  to  divine  what  he 
wanted  of  me.  I  did  not  know  him  at  ail,  but  having 
pondered  well  over  the  matter,  I  concluded  that  a 
soldier,  who  had  been  arrested  for  theft,  and  who  was 
of  my  guard,  was  the  cause.  I  imagined  that  he  had 
remembered  me,  and  that  this  magistrate,  who  was  not 
wont  to  forget  himself  when  his  profit  was  concerned, 
wanted  to  feel  my  puise,  to  save  this  wretch's  life. 
This  thought  inspired  me  with  such  contempt  for 
him,  that,  instead  of  answering  his  request,  I  did  not 
even  trouble  to  let  him  hear  from  me. 

When  he  perceived  this,  he  spoke  of  it  to  a  gentleman 
who  was  a  relation  of  his,  named  Seguier  de  la  Verrière, 
in  the  suite  of  "  Mademoiselle."  This  gentleman,  whom 
he  had  before  asked  if  he  knew  me,  was  a  friend  of 
mine.  He  it  was  who  had  told  him  of  my  having 
been  to  M.  le  Cardinal,  and  of  his  having  been  kind 
to  me  ;  so,  having  complained  that  I  had  not  done 
him  the  honour  of  giving  him  news  of  myself,  though 
he  might  well  expect  such  a  thing,  after  what  he  had 
done  for  me,  the  magistrate  once  again  begged  him 
to  let  me  know  that  he  had  something  of  importance 
to  communicate.  He  even  added  that  it  concerned  me 
more  closely  than  I  thought,  in  order  that  I  might 
not  be  so  négligent  on  this  occasion  as  I  had  been 
on  the  other.  La  Verrière  very  much  surprised  me 
when  he  told  me  this.  I  replied,  with  that  cordiality 
which  prevails  between  good  friends  and  honourable 
men,  that  he  knew  his  relation  just  as  well  as  myself. 
He  had  a  bad  réputation,  and  it  was  this  which  had 
prevented  my  replying  to  his  civil  message.  My  idea 
had  been  that  he  wanted  to  ask  me  for  money  to 
save   a   wretch    from   the    gallows.     Perhaps,    indeed. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  117 

this  fresh  attempt  was  made  only  vvith  the  same  end 
in   view,  and    I   would   beg   him  to  let  me  know  his 
opinion,  for,  if  it  coincided  with  m}-  own,  I  should  stop 
vvhere  I  was,  without  consenting  to  go  and  see  him. 
At  the  same  time,  I  enquired  if  he  knew  at  ail  what 
was    wanted    of    me,    knowing    that,    without     any 
référence  to  his  relationship,  he  would  make  no  mystery 
about  the  matter.     La  Verrière,  who  was  an  honour- 
able   man   whom  one   could   trust,   told   me   that   he 
had  sounded  his  relative  on  the  subject,  but  that  he 
would  never  tell  him  anything  about  it  ;  he  was  there- 
fore  of  opinion  that  it  was  not  about  what   I  thought 
that   he   wished   to    speak    to   me.      His    reason   for 
thinking  so  was  that,  were  it  for  such  a  small  matter, 
he   would   hâve   made   no   mystery  about  mentioning 
it;  he  would  even  hâve  told  him  to  drop  me  a  word, 
the   more  so   as  it  would  hâve  been  easy  for  him   to 
turn  this  off  in  a  creditable  way,  without  as  yet  allowing 
his  own  self-interest  to  appear.     In  short,  La  Verrière 
concluded  that  he  must  hâve  something  of  importance 
to  tell  me,  and  even  of  such  great  importance  as  not  to 
confide  it  to  anyone  but  myself. 

I  allowed  myself  to  believe  him,  so  much  so  that, 
having  goneto  see  this  magistrate,  he  much  surprised  me 
when  I  learned  what  had  happened.  I  had  already  been 
as  astonished  as  anyone  could  be  by  the  disappearance 
of  the  lady,  but  perceivingbesides  that  I  wasaccusedof 
abducting  her,  I  found  myself  so  carried  away  by  rage 
and  grief  that  I  do  not  know  what  this  judge  could 
hâve  said  about  me.  I  must  hâve  seemed  much  more 
brutal  than  polite,  for,  instead  of  thanking  him  as  I 
should  hâve  done,  I  railed  against  the  lady's  son,  whom 
I  did  not  fail  to  accuse  of  being  the  author  of  what 


Ii8  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

had  occurred.  The  trick  he  had  already  played  iipon 
his  mother  and  myself  was  a  sure  proof  to  me  that  I 
was  not  deceived.  I  told  the  lieutenant  criminel 
this,  and  he  replied  that  there  was  indeed  some  pre- 
sumption  that  it  was  true,  but  the  proof  was  not  clear 
enough  to  base  certain  confidence  upon  it.  Besides, 
he  was  not  the  man  to  hâve  had  his  mother  killed, 
which  also  would  hâve  been,  as  it  were,  impossible  for 
him  to  hâve  done,  without  some  news  of  it  reaching  his 
ears.  He  was  furnished  with  accurate  information 
regarding  ail  the  murders  which  were  perpetrated  in 
Paris.  None  had  occurred  for  nearly  three  weeks  past, 
so,  if  the  young  man  were  guilty  of  that  which  I 
accused  him  of,  it  was  at  most  only  of  having  had  his 
mother  abducted.  Nevertheless,  people  could  not  be 
shut  up  like  this  without  someone  getting  to  know  of  it. 
He  would,  for  my  sake,  enquire  of  ail  the  prévôts  if  any 
suspicions  carriage  had  been  observed  to  pass  by.  The 
prévôts  had  spies  out  from  the  break  of  day  to  well  on 
in  the  night,  so,  unless  very  particular  measures  had 
been  taken,  this  affair  would  not  long  remain  secret, 
always  supposing  that  my  suspicions  turned  out  to  be 
true. 

Thèse  promises  were  of  no  use  to  me,  because, 
although  the  carriage  in  which  the  lady  was  had  been 
seen  to  pass,  this  functionary  did  not  dare  to  tell  me 
anything  about  it,  as  the  matter  concerned  the  King. 
Besides,  as  he  did  not  think  the  lady  was  in  it,  he 
believed  that,  even  should  he  speak  about  it,  it  would 
be  of  no  use  to  me  whatever.  He  could  not  guess  that 
she  had  done  anything  which  concerned  the  King,  nor 
that  a  son  had  been  wicked  enough  to  reduce  a  mother 
to   such   a   déplorable   condition  by  means  of  a  false 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  119 

accusation.  Be  this  as  it  may,  not  being  able,  after 
making  a  thousand  useless  enquiries  as  to  her  fate,  to 
get  rid  of  the  suspicion  which  I  entertained  against 
this  young  man,  I  resolved  to  dispatch  him  to  another 
world.  Nevertheless,  I  did  not  dream  of  carrying  this 
out  by  evil  means.  My  résolve  was  to  fight  with  him, 
and  obhge  him  to  tell  me  what  he  had  done  with  his 
mother,  that  is,  if  the  fortune  of  war  should  place  me 
in  a  position  to  ask  him  such  a  thing.  However,  no 
sooner  did  he  perceive  that  I  was  trying  to  cross 
swords  with  him,  than  he  secretly  sold  his  post.  At 
the  same  time,  he  crossed  into  foreign  countries,  under 
the  pretext  of  travelling.  I  would  hâve  followed  him, 
had  I,  like  himself,  been  of  a  mood  to  throw  up  every- 
thmg,  but  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  my  prosperity 
was  concerned,  I  was  as  patient  as  was  possible  for 
me  to  be,  from  fear  of  having  reasons  for  regret  if  I 
were  to  do  things  without  mature  délibération. 


^  t-^ 


IV 


^  HREE  months  passed  away  without  my  hear- 
î:^  ing  any  talk  of  the  matter.  Notwithstanding 
this,  I  still  continuée!  to  prosecute  my  en- 
quiries,  but  I  had  got  just  as  far  with  them 
as  on  the  first  day,  when  I  received  an  un- 
signed  letter,  and  one,  the  writing  of  which  was 
unknown  to  me.  It  set  forth  that  the  writer 
had  undertaken  to  give  me  a  great  bit  of  news,  which 
must  closely  affect  me.  It  could  not  be  confided  to 
paper  for  very  important  reasons,  but  before  six  weeks, 
or  two  months  at  the  latest,  I  should  hear  it  out  loud. 
More  information  could  not  be  given,  for  indispensable 
reasons.  I  was  to  Hve  in  hope  till  then,  for  my  troubles 
would  certainly  not  last  longer, 

My  first  thought,  on  receiving  this  letter,  was  that 
my  enemy  had  had  it  written  to  further  make  game  of 
me.  Nevertheless,  I  had  to  be  patient,  without  even 
knowing  whence  the  letter  came.  For,  as  it  was  un- 
dated,  and  I  had  not  been  at  home  when  it  had  been 
brought,  I  could  not  enquire  from  the  postman.^  I 
went  the  next  day  to  him  to  find  this  out,  and,  having 

I  Cardinal  Richelieu  had,  in  1630,  established  a  rcgular  postal 
System,  with  twenty  postal  zones. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  xai 

shown  him  the  letter,  he  replied  that  he  could  not 
with  certainty  say  from  what  place  it  had  corne. 
He  carried  letters  from  so  many  places,  that  he  was 
afraid  of  taking  one  for  the  other,  but,  ail  the  same, 
he  thought  it  was  from  Bordeaux,  and  would  even 
assure  me  that  this  was  the  case.  The  postage  he 
had  made  me  pay  coincided  with  this  well  enough, 
but,  in  short,  whether  it  came  from  there  or  some- 
where  else,  ail  this  was  useless  enough,  since  I  did  not 
know  to  whom  to  address  myself  to  extricate  me  from 
my  uneasiness.  Two  months  and  a  half  elapsed  with- 
out  my  discovering  the  outcome  of  this  letter,  which 
made  me  more  than  ever  believe  that  this  was  a  new 
joke  someone  had  played  me.  Finally,  as  I  no  longer 
expected  anything,  since  the  period  of  time  named  had 
already  passed  away  fifteen  days  ago,  I  received  a  fresh 
letter,  in  which  my  pardon  was  asked  for  the  writer 
not  having  kept  his  word.  Excuses  were  made  in  it, 
couched  in  the  most  honourable  terms  imaginable,  and 
thèse  phrases  ended  with  a  formai  assurance  that, 
before  three  weeks  were  over,  I  should  hâve  every 
reason  for  being  content. 

This  second  letter  gave  me  more  pleasure  than  the 
first,  since  it  seemed  to  me  that,  if  there  had  been 
nothing  to  be  hoped  for  me,  the  writer  would  not  hâve 
taken  so  much  trouble.  I  consequently  again  waited 
patiently  during  the  time  asked,  and  scarcely  two  days 
after  it  had  expired,  one  of  my  servants  came  to  say 
that  a  gentleman  was  askingfor  me.  As  every  moment 
I  awaited  news  of  the  person  who  had  written  to  me, 
I  asked  hirn  if  he  knew  who  it  was,  for,  had  he  donc 
so,  I  should  hâve  clearly  seen  that  it  was  not  the  man 
I  awaited  with   such   impatience,     He   answered   no, 


122  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

which  so  much  raised  my  hopes,  that  I  vvas  very  near 
running  to  meet  him,  the  sooner  to  make  sure  of  my 
business.     Reflecting,  however,  that,  even   were    I  to 
fly  instead   of  run,    the   man   could   tell   me   nothing 
on  the  steps,  I  waited  for  him  in  my  room  with  a  stout 
heart.     A  moment  later,  I  saw  enter  a  tall  well-built 
man,  who,  after  having  civilly  saluted  me,  said    that 
he  had  not  the  honour  of  being  known   to   me,   but 
that   it   was   he   who   had   twice   written   to   me.      I 
was  delighted  to  perceive   that  it   was  the  individual 
whom    I    had   so   long  been  waiting  for,  and,   having 
had  a  chair  placed  for  him  near  the  fire,  I  made  my 
servants  leave  the  room,  so  that  he  might  speak  to  me 
more  at  his  ease.     He  proceeded  to  say  that  he  was  a 
gentleman  of  Gascony,  who  had  had  the  misfortune  to 
be  shut   up  for   ten  years  in   the    château    of   Pierre- 
Encise,  that  he  had  got  out  but  two  days  before  writing 
me  his  first  letter,  and  had  not  been  able  to  let   me 
know  its  intent,  for  fear  of  its  being  seized  in  the  post 
and  bringing  some  fresh  trouble  upon  himself.    A  mère 
nothing  was  needed  to  get  a  man  thrown  into  thèse 
kind  of  prisons,  especially  when  one  was  observed,  on 
leaving  them,  to  attempt  to  send  news  to  the  relatives 
or  friends  of  other  prisoners!     What  he  at  that  time 
had  to  tell  me,  and  that  which  he  was  now  going  to 
do,  was  to  inform  me  that  a  lady,  who  had  been  im- 
prisoned  in  this  château  five  or  six  months  before,  had 
great  confidence  in  me  to  get  her  innocence  established. 
She  had  been  unable  to  write  to  me  for  lack  of  ink 
and    paper,  but    now  sent  word   that    this   affair  had 
apparently  been    brought  upon  her  by  the  same  man 
who  had  opposed  our  marriage.     I  was  not  to  lose  a 
moment  in  succouring  her,  for,  were  I  to  delay  a  little 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGXAN  123 

time,  sorrow  would  soon  send  her  to  the  tomb.  She 
did  nothing  but  vveep  day  and  night,  and  he  was  even 
very  much  afraid  that  the  long  time  he  had  taken  to 
give  me  news  of  her  might  hâve  thrown  her  into 
despair,  Nevertheless,  he  could  not  hâve  done  any 
more,  for,  at  the  end  of  such  a  long  imprisonment,  he 
had  been  obliged  to  go  to  his  estate  to  see  his  wife 
and  children.  At  first,  he  had  reckoned  not  to  be  so 
long,  but,  not  being  born  rich,  and  as  in  this  world 
one  did  not  do  ail  one  wished,  ail  this  time  had  been 
necessary  for  him  to  procure  the  money  requisite  for 
his  journey  to  Paris. 

The  reader  may  judge  of  my  surprise  at  hearing 
such  news  !  I  could  not  doubt  that  this  was  the  lady 
whom  I  had  so  long  sorrowed  for,  and  even  had  I 
still  doubted,  I  should  not  hâve  remained  in  that  state 
long,  since  he  mentioned  her  by  name  to  me.  He 
added  that  she  had  been  incarcerated  in  a  room 
above  his  ovvn,  that  he  had  pierced  the  fireplace,  which 
had  the  same  chimney  as  that  in  which  he  lighted  his 
fire,  and  had  spoken  to  her  by  that  opening,  and 
had  by  thèse  means  finally  learnt  her  sad  fate.  He 
left  me  a  moment  after,  saying  that  time  must  be  so 
precious  to  me  after  what  he  had  just  said,  that  everyone 
who  should  make  me  lose  it  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  insupportable.  He  would,  however,  come  from 
time  to  time  to  see  me,  to  know  what  I  had  done. 
Meanwhile,  did  I  need  him,  he  lodged  in  the  Rue 
d'Orléans  at  the  "  Golden  Scissors."  I  had  only  to 
Write  him  the  shortest  note  to  bid  him  come,  and 
he  would  at  once  betake  himself  to  my  house.  I  had 
but  to  address  it  to  M.  de  las  Garigues,  which,  as  a 
matter   of  fact,  was   not  his  real  name,  but  the  one 


124  MEMOIRS  OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

which    he   had  assumed   in    the    hostelry    for   certain 
reasons  of  his  own. 

I  thanked  him,  as  was  right,  for  the  trouble  he  had 
taken,  and  having  gone  to  the  house  of  M.  le  Tellier, 
Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  I  had  the  honour  to  be 
privately  known,  I  related  as  succinctly  as  I  could 
the  afîair  of  the  lady,  so  that  he  might  assist  me. 
This  he  promised  to  do,  telling  me  that,  as  it  was 
not  he  who  had  issued  the  "  lettre  de  cachet,"  he  would 
discover  from  the  other  Secretaries  of  State  who  it 
was  who  had  given  it,  so  I  must  furnish  him  with 
not  only  the  name  and  position  of  the  lady  in  writing, 
but  further  make  three  memoranda  ail  exactly  alike, 
in  order  that  he  might  send  them  to  the  three 
Secretaries  of  State,  which  there  were  without  counting 
himself.  I  was  enchanted  at  his  promises,  and  having 
gone  from  him  to  the  house  of  one  of  his  chief  clerks, 
named  Boistel,  a  friend  of  mine,  I  begged  him  to 
give  me  three  sheets  of  paper  with  a  pen  and  ink, 
This  was  soon  done,  and  my  three  memoranda 
being  completed  on  the  spot,  I  at  once  took  them 
to  M.  le  Tellier,  whom  I  found  no  longer  at  home. 
M.  le  Cardinal  had  just  sent  for  him  on  some  business, 
and  betaking  myself  to  his  house  (not  to  speak  to  him 
there,  but  to  watch  when  he  went  out,  so  as  to  return 
to  his  lodging  with  him),  Iremained  two  hours  without 
his  making  his  appearance,  Eventually  he  descried  me 
in  the  ante-chamber  while  leaving  the  minister, 
and  having  signalled  to  me  to  come  to  him,  he  very 
obligingly  asked  me  if  my  memoranda  were  finished. 
I  replied  yes,  and  having  bidden  me  give  them  to  him, 
so  as  to  return  me  an  answer  as  quickly  as  possible, 
I  would  not  do  so,  on  the  pretext  that  I  should  be 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  125 

acting  much  more  politely  by  bearing  them  to  his 
house  than  by  thus  casually  giving  them  to  him. 
The  truth,  however,  is,  that  I  was  afraid  that,  if  I 
gave  them  to  him,  he  would  put  them  in  his  pocket 
and  the  moment  after,  remember  them  no  more.  The 
great  matters,  by  which  he  was  already  overwhelmed 
and  by  which  he  has  been  even  much  more  burdened 
since,  gave  me  ground  for  fearing  this  forgetfulness. 
He  told  me  however,  that  ail  thèse  formalities  were 
out  of  place  between  us,  that  I  must  give  him  the  papers 
without  fuss,  for  he  would  at  once  send  them  to  his 
colleagues. 

Seeing  him  so  obHging,  I  obeyed  without  any 
répugnance,  He  did,  indeed,  give  the  packet  to  one 
of  his  lackeys,  with  orders  to  carry  it  to  the  valets 
de  chambre  of  the  three  other  Secretaries  of  State. 
He  also  bade  him  tell  the  man  to  whom  he  delivered 
it  that,  not  only  was  it  from  him  that  thèse  memoranda 
came,  but,  further,  that  he  must  impress  upon  his 
superiors  that  he  would  be  grateful  to  them,  if  they 
completed  this  business  as  quickly  as  possible. 

The  lackey  at  once  went  where  his  master  had  told 
him  to  go,  and  having  punctually  executed  his  com- 
mission, I  discovered  the  next  day  that  ail  three 
memoranda  had  been  returned  to  M.  le  Tellier  with 
exactly  the  same  answers.  They  set  forth  that  the 
lady  mentioned  was  not  at  Pierre-Encise,  and  that 
ail  the  registers  of  the  state-prisoners  for  a  year  past 
had  been  searched,  and,  from  the  examination  made,  it 
had  been  discovered  that  she  was  not  there.  No  sooner 
had  M.  le  Tellier  shown  me  this  answer  than,  with- 
out wasting  my  time  writing  a  note  to  M.  de  las 
Guarigues  as  he  had  told  me,  I  went  myself  to  find 


126  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

him.  Fortunately  he  was  at  home,  and,  having  reported 
the  answer  I  had  just  received,  he  rephed,  that  there 
was  a  misunderstanding  in  ail  this  :  that  he  had  spoken 
only  the  truth,  when  he  had  described  the  imprison- 
ment  of  my  friend  to  me,  and  that,  as  he  could  not 
make  ont  what  this  meant,  the  only  and  best  advice 
he  could  give,  as  I  had  friends,  was  to  find  out  from 
them  the  name  of  a  lady,  who  had  been  incarcerated  at 
Pierre-Encise  within  the  time  he  had  mentioned  to 
me.  She  was  undoubtedly  the  one  about  whom  I  was 
in  trouble,  and  I  ought  to  be  the  more  sure  of  it  from 
his  not  telling  me  things  picked  up  from  hearsay,  but 
from  his  own  personal  knowledge. 

I  deemed  that  he  was  not  in  the  wrong  :  so,  having 
returned  to  the  house  of  M.  le  Tellier,  I  told  him  con- 
fidentially  how  I  knew  that  the  lady,  whose  name  was 
on  my  memoranda,  was  at  Pierre-Encise,  so  that  the 
might  not  take  ill  my  returning  to  the  charge  after  the 
trouble  he  had  already  taken.  Nevertheless,  I  made 
this  avowal  to  him  only  with  ail  the  précautions 
possible,  so  as  not  to  harm  the  man  from  whom  I 
had  obtained  this  information.  I  told  him  that  it  was 
not  only  a  natural  thing  for  unfortunate  people  to  try 
and  assist  one  another,  but  further,  that  anyone  in 
trouble  would  deserve  to  be  punished  by  God,  were  he 
not  to  earnestly  attempt  such  a  thing.  The  interests 
of  the  King  were  not  concerned  in  this  kind  of  affair, 
especially  when  undertaken  by  just  and  reasonable 
means,  such  as  making  manifest  the  innocence  of  an 
accused  person.  M.  le  Tellier,  with  his  usual  high- 
mindedness,  replied  that  it  was  unnecessary  for  me 
to  take  so  much  trouble  to  exculpate  the  man  who 
had  given  me  this  information.     My   interest  in  the 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  127 

matter  was  enough  to  cause  him  to  do  his  duty,  and 
I  should  hâve  a  reply  to  my  request  at  once  in  the 
same  way,  and  as  quickly  as  I  had  had  to  my  memor- 
anda.  This  his  colleagues  would  not  refuse  him,  espe- 
cially  when  they  learned  that  he  took  just  as  much 
interest  in  the  matter  as  if  it  concerned  himself.  I 
thanked  him  as  I  ought  for  such  lofty  sentiments,  and 
having  again  been  but  twenty-four  hours  in  giving  me 
an  answer,  I  finally  learned  that  the  lady  I  sought  had 
been  arrested  under  her  family  name,  and  not  under 
that  which  her  husband  bore.  This  was  a  scheme  of 
her  son's,  to  further  put  me  off  the  scent  and  stop  me 
finding  out  her  fate. 

The  first   thing  I   did   after  this  discovery,  was  to 
make  myself  acquainted  with  the  cause  of  her  déten- 
tion.    It  was    M.  le  Comte  de  Brienne,  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  who  had  had  her  arrested, 
but   this  gentleman,   who   was   touchy  and  eccentric 
enough,  having  chanced  at  that  moment  to  hâve  had 
a  dispute  with  M.  le  Tellier  about   something  to  do 
with   their   office,  in  which    both  thought   themselves 
interested,  M.  le  Tellier  begged  me  to  find  someone 
else  than  himself  to  do  me  the  service  of  which  I  now 
stood    in    need.     I  found  two    or   three    people   who 
thought  themselves  sufficiently  friendly  with  him  to  be 
obliged  not  to  refuse  my  request.     They  did  indeed 
speak  to   the  comte   in   great  confidence,  but  as  the 
clerk,  who  had  received  the  five  hundred  pistoles  to 
expedite  the  issue  of  the  "  lettre  de  cachet,"  no  longer 
had   M.  le  Tellier  above   him  to  oblige  him  to   bend 
under  his  orders,  he  turned  the  mind  of  his  master  so 
successfully,  that,  after  several  delays  which  he  caused, 
they  told  me  that  they  could  not  be  more  discontented 


128  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

with  him  than  they  were.  After  having  promised 
them  everything,  he  now  sought  for  means  to  excuse 
himself.  They  would  not  try  and  imitate  him  in 
playing  with  me  any  longer.  I  must  betake  myself 
elsewhere,  since  they  preferred  at  once  to  own  their 
small  influence  with  him,  to  giving  me  grounds  for 
blaming  their  great  credulity. 

The  matter  being  thus  finished,  as  far  as  they  were 
concerned,  I  had  recourse  direct  to  the  Cardinal.  As 
it  was  he  who  had  first  advised  me  to  make  love  to 
the  lady,  I  had  taken  care  to  keep  him  posted  as  to 
ail  the  progress  I  had  made  with  her.  He  also  knew 
of  my  grief  on  seeing  my  plan  collapse  through  the 
misfortune  which  she  had  met  with.  He  had  even 
told  me  that  I  must  be  very  unfortunate  to  again 
expérience  this  misfortune,  since  it  was  not  the  first 
time  he  had  perceived  me  on  the  eve  of  an  advantageous 
marriage,  and  witnessed  the  downfall  of  my  hopes. 
Nevertheless,  ail  this  had  failedat  the  most  unexpected 
moment,  so  that,  if  there  was  any  consolation  for  me, 
it  should  be  that  it  was  in  no  way  m  y  own  fault.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  this  minister  not  being  able  to  be 
annoyed  at  my  speaking  to  him  of  a  person  with  whom 
he  had  himself  started  me,  I  described  to  him  where 
she  was,  and  the  need  I  had  of  his  help  to  extricate 
her.  His  Eminence  was  so  eager  to  render  services  to 
everyone  when  it  cost  him  nothing,  that  he  received 
my  pétition  favourably.  He  bade  me  give  him  a 
mémorandum  on  the  matter,  and  he  would  send  it  to 
the  Comte  de  Brienne.  I  completed  one  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  later,  and  having  gone  with  it  to  him,  instead 
of  taking  it,  he  told  me  to  go  and  présent  it  myself  to 
that   under-minister.     I  went,  and,  either  because  he 


MÈMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  iig 

did  not  think  that  I  came  from  such  a  good  quarter,  or 
that  he  was  in  his  disobliging  mood,  as  happened  to 
him  often  enough,  he  made  reply  that  his  ears  had 
already  been  tired  out  with  this  business,  but  that  it 
seemed  such  a  bad  one,  that  he  was  surprised  at 
honourable  people  being  wilHng  to  meddle  further 
with  it. 

He  was  speaking  to  me  thus  only  with  the  voice 
of  his  clerk,  who  deemed  himself  obliged  to  support 
his  handiwork,  fearing  lest  it  should  be  discovered 
that  it  was  but  the  five  hundred  pistoles  he  had  received 
which  had  made  him  commit  the  pièce  of  rascality 
he  had.  But,  as  I  was  ignorant  of  ail  this,  fear 
seized  me  at  hearing  him  talk  thus,  so  much  so  that, 
had  my  own  interests  only  been  concerned,  I  do  not 
know  that  I  should  not  hâve  abandoned  everything 
on  the  spot  rather  than  risk  making  a  false  step. 
Knowing  the  comte  to  be  proud  and  vindictive  enough, 
I  told  myself  that  it  might  be  possible  that  the  lady 
had  plotted  against  the  minister.  The  reason  I  had 
for  suspecting  her  was  that  she  had  an  uncle,  whom 
his  Eminence  still  kept  in  exile,  and  whose  misfortunes 
I  had  sometimes  heard  her  déplore. 

She  had  great  need  at  this  moment  of  having  made 
me  fall  in  love  with  her,  so  as  to  surmount  this 
obstacle  ;  indeed,  as  there  is  nothing  which  love  does 
not  conquer,  my  fears  would  soon  hâve  disappeared 
before  it.  Meanwhile,  either  because  I  was  more 
interested  than  I  thought,  or  because  my  compassion 
for  her  plight  produced  the  same  effect  as  love  might 
hâve  done,  I  did  not  fail  to  return  two  days  later  to 
the  house  of  the  Comte  de  Brienne,  to  ascertain  from 
him  if  he  had  no  more  favourable  reply  to  give  me 

VOL.    II  9 


t3ô  MËMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

than  the  one  he  had  already  made.  He  received 
me  even  worse  than  the  first  time.  I  complained  of 
this  to  the  Cardinal,  and  knowing  I  must  inform  him, 
unless  I  expected  to  lose  my  suit,  I  casually  said, 
without  feeling  sure  if  I  Hed  or  not,  that  there 
was  a  clerk  of  this  Secretary  of  State  who  opposed 
me  with  his  master.  I  had  been  told  that  he  had  let 
himself  be  corrupted  with  money,  and  that,  as  the 
son  of  my  prisoner  had  a  good  deal,  he  had  every 
Hkelihood  of  perpetually  retaining  him  in  his  interests 
by  new  présents.  So,  as  there  was  nothing  more 
capable  of  smothering  innocence  than  such  a  course 
of  action,  I  saw  great  risk  of  seeing  myself  "  fleeced," 
unless  his  Eminence  were  to  accord  me  formally  his 
protection.  I  only  asked  for  justice,  and  if  the  lady 
were  guilty,  as  was  maintained,  far  from  desiring 
to  justify  her,  I  should  be  the  first  to  demand  her 
condemnation. 

His  Eminence  listened  to  my  reasons,  and  as  I 
had  seized  the  opportunity  of  speaking  to  him  when 
leaving  the  gambling-room,  where  he  had  just  won 
fifteen  hundred  pistoles,  he  chanced  to  be  in  such  a 
good  humour  that  he  bade  me  follow  him  into  his 
study.  He  sent  for  one  of  his  secretaries,  and 
immediately  bade  him  write  off  a  note  to  the  Comte 
de  Brienne  to  at  once  bring  him  the  register  of  the 
prisoners  who  were  at  Pierre -Encise.  The  comte 
did  not  dare  resist  an  order  like  this,  and  being 
obliged  to  obey,  he  brought  this  register,  in  which 
I  saw  that  the  lady  had  been  arrested  for  the  reasons 
I  hâve  just  detailed.  I  was  enchanted  to  perceive  that 
matters  were  not  as  I  had  suspected  ;  so,  nothing  now 
preventing  me  from  entirely  devoting  myself  to  her 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  131 

interests,  I  begged  M.  le  Cardinal  to  hâve  the  letters 
mentioned  in  it  brought  to  him,  so  that  he  might  see 
if  they  were  as  incriminating  as  was  reported.  He 
was  good  enough  to  accède  to  my  entreaty.  M.  de 
Brienne  sent  the  clerk,  who  had  brought  the  register 
with  him,  to  get  the  letters.  He  was  not  long  in 
returning,  and,  having  spread  them  ont  on  the  table 
of  his  Eminence,  I  had  no  sooner  cast  my  eyes  over 
them  than  I  understood  their  import.  I  at  once  told 
the  minister  this,  and  that  the  calumny  was  such  a 
clumsy  one,  that  no  trouble  had  even  been  taken  to 
forge  the  lady's  writing.  The  writing  was  totally 
différent  from  hers,  and  even  so  différent  that  no 
experts  would  be  needed  to  prove  it.  If  his  Eminence 
would  be  pleased  to  keep  the  letters,  I  would  in  a 
moment  bring  him  some  which  I  had  from  the  accused 
woman's  own  hand.  Charity  and  justice  itself  demanded 
that  she  should  suffer  no  more,  since  she  was  innocent. 
She  was  shut  up  like  a  miscreant,  which  was  a  very 
sad  thing,  and  at  the  same  time  very  hard  for  a  person 
of  some  birth  and  one  who  had  never  given  occasion 
for  anything  of  the  sort. 

The  Cardinal,  who  was  kind  when  he  liked  (which 
was  never),  chancing  by  good  luck  to  be  in  a  good 
mood  just  then,  told  me  to  go  and  fetch  my  letters 
immediately.  The  matter  should  at  once  be  settled 
on  the  desk,  without  there  being  need  of  delaying  it  to 
another  time.  Never  did  order  seem  more  pleasant  to 
me  than  this  one.  I  set  out  that  very  minute  without 
having  to  be  told  twice,  and,  having  brought  him  thèse 
letters,  he  at  once  perceived  the  deceit  just  as  I  had 
been  able  to  do.  The  Comte  de  Brienne  himself  could 
not  deny  it,  thoroughly  prepared  as  he  was  ;  so,  as  ail 


133  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

now  merely  depended  upon  whether  sufïicient  trust 
would  be  placed  in  me  to  believe  that  the  letters  I  had 
shown  were  the  lady's  and  that  the  others  were  not, 
his  Eminence,  who  wanted  to  oblige  me  cheaply, 
bade  me  sign  my  déclaration  and  attest  that  it  con- 
tained  the  truth.  I  did  so  without  hésitation,  and 
even  made  myself  security,  "  body  for  body,"  for  what  I 
advanced  in  favour  of  the  lady.  M.  le  Cardinal  hoped 
that  matters  were  as  I  said  :  then,  having  ordered 
M.  de  Brienne  to  grant  me  an  order  to  extricate  her 
from  prison,  this  comte  tried  to  put  me  off  to  the  next 
day,  and,  perhaps,  even  to  four  or  five  days  ahead. 
Upon  this  I  begged  his  Eminence  to  grant  a  complète 
pardon,  since  he  had  already  so  manifestly  obliged  me. 
I  declared  that  the  clerk  who  had  brought  thèse  letters 
might  Write  the  order  and  the  Comte  de  Brienne  sign 
it,  and  that  there  would  be  only  the  King's  seal  to  be 
affixed,  and,  as  this  was  but  the  matter  of  a  moment,  I 
should  be  able  to  take  post  that  very  day  to  deliver  the 
lady  from  captivity.  Half  a  day's  journey  in  such  a 
situation  was  a  great  alleviation  to  an  unfortunate 
person  :  how  much  more  so  a  time  of  longer  duration, 
as  was  the  one  I  was  asking  for  !  M.  le  Cardinal 
thought  I  was  right  and,  things  being  done  as  I 
wished,  everything  would  hâve  turned  out  in  the  best 
way  in  the  world  for  me,  had  I  been  able  to  hâve  the 
seal  affîxed  a  quarter  of  an  hour  later,  as  I  thoroughly 
expected  to  hâve  done.  However,  the  clerks,  who 
were  accustomed  to  do  everything  for  one  another,  not 
being  behindhand  on  this  occasion  (the  man  whose 
duty  this  was  being  apparently  eager  to  enrage  me, 
because  he  knew  it  would  please  his  colleague  who  had 
received  the  five  hundred  pistoles),  kept  me  going  for 


ME  MOI  R  s  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  133 

two  days  without  consenting  to  satisfy  me.  I  even 
think  that  he  would  hâve  kept  me  going  much  longer, 
if  it  had  not  been  that  I  returned  to  M.  le  Cardinal 
to  let  him  know  the  annoyance  inflicted  upon  me. 
Eventually,  his  Eminence  having  taken  the  trouble  to 
send  again  and  even  to  threaten  that,  if  people  vvere 
audacious  enough  to  make  me  w^ait  any  longer,  he 
would  send  at  least  a  dozen  clerks  to  prison,  my  order 
was  delivered  to  me,  but  not  without  difficulty.  As  a 
last  pièce  of  trickery,  the  clerk  wanted  to  insist  on  its 
being  sent  by  the  courier.  Perceiving,  however,  that 
I  was  determined  to  return  afresh  to  his  Eminence,  and 
make  complaint  of  this,  the  fear  of  harm  befalling  him 
caused  the  man  to  at  last  desist  from  persecuting  me. 

I  set  out  the  same  day,  pleased  beyond  measure  at 
the  succour  I  was  about  to  give  this  poor  woman.  I 
considered  myself  as  the  cause  of  her  misfortunes,  since, 
without  her  kindness  to  me,  her  son  would  never  hâve 
dreamt  of  being  so  unjust  to  her.  As  I  was  young  and 
vigorous,  I  went  a  long  way  in  a  short  time;  I  reached 
Lion  very  early,  and  having  gone  to  take  up  my  abode 
at  the  house  of  the  brother  of  the  Maréchal  de  Villeroy, 
who  was  archbishop,  I  proceeded  thence  to  where  my 
business  lay.  I  delivered  my  order  to  him  who  com- 
manded  in  this  castle  (Pierre-Encise),  and  this  officer, 
having  seen  its  contents,  told  me  that  he  was  deeply 
sorry  for  the  trouble  I  had  taken.  He  was  very  much 
afraid  I  had  come  too  late.  The  lady  to  whom  I  had 
brought  liberty  had  not  the  appearance  of  enjoying  it 
very  long.  She  was  at  the  last  point  of  illness,  and  as 
her  disease  but  arose  from  grief,  ail  he  could  now  hope 
was  that  the  news  which  I  was  bringing  might  perhaps 
resuscitate  her  from  death  to  life.     She  had  already 


134  ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

received  ail  the  sacraments,  in  short,  one  only  awaited 
her  death. 

I  leave  to  the  imagination  my  grief  at  a  speech  like 
this.  I  begged  this  commandant  to  show  me  to  her, 
and,  having  at  once  conducted  me  to  her  room,  I  found 
her  in  an  even  worse  plight  than  he  had  described.  She 
did  not  recognise  me,  but  this  not  being  the  case  with 
her  companion,  who  had  been  imprisoned  in  the  same 
room,  the  latter  ran  to  her  bed  to  announce  my  arrivai. 
**  Madame,"  cried  she,  "  hère  is  M.  d'Artagnan  come 
to  deliver  you  from  prison.  Did  I  not  assure  you  that 
he  had  not  abandoned  you  as  you  thought,  and  that  a 
little  patience  was  necessary  ?"  I  perceived  from  thèse 
words,  that  the  length  of  time  the  gentleman  I  hâve 
mentioned  had  taken  to  let  me  know  her  condition 
had  thrown  her  into  despair.  It  was  but  too  true  : 
she  had  imagined  that  I  thought  no  more  about  her, 
and  this,  added  to  the  shock  she  had  already  sustained 
from  her  misfortunes,  had  caused  her  to  fall  into  a  slow 
fever,  which  had  eventually  reduced  her  to  the  plight 
she  was  now  in.  She  well  understood  what  her  com- 
panion was  saying,  and  casting  her  eyes  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left,  to  see  where  I  was  (for  her  sight  was  so 
dim,  that  she  could  hardly  see  three  paces  in  front  of 
her),  she  eventually  perceived  me,  because  I  had 
approached  her  bed.  "You  come  too  late,"  said  she; 
'•  whose  fault  it  is  I  am  unaware  :  you  much  better  than 
I  can  tell.  It  will  cost  me  my  life,  and  I  well  know 
I  am  about  to  lose  it."  I  tried  to  cheer  her,  and  as  I 
had  no  reason  to  fear  doing  harm  to  the  man  who 
had  let  me  know  where  she  was,  since  I  had  told  M.  le 
Cardinal  how  I  had  got  the  information,  and  he  had 
not   been   displeased,    I    did   not   think    I    should    be 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  135 

acting  unwisely  by  informing  her  that,  if  my  succour 
had  been  so  long  in  coming,  she  ought  not  to  blâme 
me.  However,  this  was  giving  explanations  to  a 
person  not  in  a  state  to  understand  them  ;  she  had 
not  two  hours  to  live,  and,  indeed,  expired  at  the 
beginning  of  the  night. 

I  need  hardly  say,  it  appears  to  me,  that  I  was  very 
much  grieved.  This  is  easily  to  be  believed  without 
my  being  obliged  to  swear  to  it  :  consequently,  though 
I  had  promised  the  Archbishop  of  Lion  to  go  to  supper 
with  him,  I  was  so  little  in  a  condition  to  keep  my 
Word  that  I  despatched  a  note  begging  him  to  excuse  me. 
My  valet,  who  was  there,  did  not  conceal  from  him 
what  prevented  me,  and,  as  the  prelate  in  question 
was  a  very  gentlemanly  man,  he  sent  one  of  his  suite 
to  testify  his  sympathy  with  me  in  my  affliction. 
Assuredly  it  was  a  great  one.  I  had  lost  a  fortune 
which  was  not  to  be  recovered  every  day — a  woman, 
who  had  an  income  of  twenty  thousand  solid  livres,  and 
who,  besides  ail  this,  had  loved  me  so  much  as  to  hâve 
reproached  me  more  on  seeing  me  for  my  inconstancy 
than  bewailed  her  own  misfortunes.  Had  I  been 
really  guilty,  as  she  had  maintained,  it  would  hâve 
been  enough  to  hâve  made  me  die  of  grief  and  con- 
fusion ;  but,  having  nothing  to  reproach  myself  with 
on  that  score,  I  had  but  to  overcome  my  sorrow  for  the 
loss  of  my  time  and  my  hopes.  I  did  not  think  it 
opportune  to  again  take  the  post,  which  I  should  hâve 
done  in  another  frame  of  mind.  I  should  then  hâve 
returned  pretty  quickly  to  overcome  the  opposition 
which  had  been  raised  against  our  banns,  and  which 
had  been  left  in  the  same  state  since  the  lady's  im- 
prisonment.     Not  that  her  présence  would  hâve  been 


136  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

necessary,  unless  people  should  hâve  made  attempts  to 
worry  us  any  more,  which,  nevertheless,  I  did  not 
believe,  after  the  way  I  had  regaled  my  chevalier, 
since  he  would  certainly  hâve  been  afraid  of  a  fresh 
thrashing,  had  he  continued  to  trouble  us  further. 
Besides,  as  it  would  not  hâve  been  seemly  for  me  to 
return  with  her,  I  should  hâve  had  to  hâve  returned 
alone,  so  as  to  avoid  the  slander  which  would  not  hâve 
failed  to  hâve  been  let  loose,  had  we  been  seen  travelling 
together  before  being  married.  However,  her  death 
exempting  me  from  both  thèse  things,  in  spite  of 
myself  I  returned  by  Rouanne,  resolved  to  take  the 
river  there.  I  considered  that  this  was  a  place  for  me  in 
which  to  muse  quite  peacefully.  I  reckoned  on  going 
thence  on  a  journey  to  St.  Dié,  to  see  whether  poor 
Montigré's  death  had  not  emboldened  Rosnai  to  return. 
He  might  think,  as  indeed  was  true,  that  I  no  longer 
had  anyone  there  to  let  me  know  of  his  stay.  I  was 
eager  to  surprise  him,  and  though  it  was  playing  a 
**  devilish  Italian  '*  to  cherish  my  resentment  so  long,  I 
had  every  désire  to  be  one  on  this  occasion,  although 
on  ail  others  I  did  not  scruple  to  déclare  myself 
opposed  to  that  nation. 

I  took  hired  horses  from  Lion  as  far  as  Rouanne, 
and  proceeded  quietly  to  the  latter  place,  so  as  to 
abandon  myself  on  the  way  to  everything  which  my 
sad  thoughts  might  suggest.  I  made  a  thousand  reso- 
lutions which  I  never  kept.  I  promised  myself  never 
to  become  attached  to  any  woman,  and,  having 
embarked  still  in  the  same  frame  of  mind,  so  resolute 
did  I  appear,  that  there  was  no  one  there  who  would 
not  hâve  said  that  I  was  about  to  give  up  the  fair  sex 
for  ail  the  rest  of  my  life.     Indeed,  so  strong  was  this 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  lyj 

détermination  in  me,  that,  had  we  yet  been  in  the  time 
of  those  knight-errants  who  hâve  provided  material  for 
so  many  volumes,  I  should  not  hâve  failed  to  sport 
some  "  device  "  to  show  ail  the  ladies  that  they  had 
nothing  to  hope  for  from  me.  However,  as  we  were  a 
long  way  from  those  days,  I  contented  myself  with 
making  this  resolution  secretly,  determined  to  keep  it 
better  than  I  had  done  in  the  past.  In  this  way  I 
embarked  on  the  Loire,  after  having  taken  for  myself 
alone  what  is  in  that  country  called  a  "cabane."  I  went 
down  this  river  to  Orléans,  where,  enquiring  if  Mr. 
Rosnai  was  at  his  house,  I  learned  that  he  had  some 
days  since  appeared  there.  As  I  did  not  lack  for 
money,  I  bought  a  fine  horse  in  that  town  and  another 
for  my  valet.  Thèse  horses  were  absolutely  essential 
to  me  for  my  plan,  as,  before  my  purchase,  I  was  neither 
in  a  condition  to  undertake  anything  nor  yet  to  escape, 
did  occasion  need.  Rosnai  (I  do  not  know  how)  was 
warned  that  an  individual  had  enquired  about  him  at 
Orléans.  Notwithstanding  the  years  which  had  elapsed 
since  our  quarrel,  my  image  was  so  firmly  impressed 
upon  his  imagination,  that,  had  he  been  a  woman  and 
about  to  conceive,  he  would  not  hâve  failed  to  produce 
a  child  resembling  me.  He  at  once  mounted  horse  and 
fled  far  away.  Thus  I  missed  my  chance,  and  being 
besides  enraged  at  the  loss  I  had  sustained,  I  resolved 
to  make  my  vengeance  fall  upon  someone  else.  I 
perceived,  in  addition,  that  it  would  be  useless  to 
think  of  catching  him,  since  he  had  concealed  his 
route  so  cleverly,  that  no  one  could  tell  where  he  had 
gone.  The  Chevalier  de  la  Carlière  was  the  object 
which  I  made  take  his  place  in  my  mind.  I  even 
wondered  why  I  had  not  given  him  the   préférence, 


138  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

since  it  was  more  natural  for  me  to  think  of  him  than 
the  other  man,  after  the  loss  I  had  just  sustained. 
Indeed,  as,  after  his  friend,  he  was  the  chief  cause  of 
my  misfortune,  it  was  quite  right  for  me  to  punish  him. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  considering,  after  having  missed 
Rosnai,  that  there  was  nothing  which  could  satisfy  me 
but  putting  some  fresh  affront  upon  the  chevaHer,  I 
left  the  place  I  was  in  with  the  fixed  idea  of  not  spar- 
ing  him.  I  even  reached  Paris  without  this  keenness 
having  slackened.  Meanwhile,  as  I  was  a  little  way 
the  other  side  of  the  Pont-Neuf,  I  was  obliged  to  stop. 
I  found  a  terrible  obstruction  of  carnages  and  carts 
by  reason  of  an  exécution  which  was  about  to  take 
place  at  the  Croix  du  Tiroir ^  This  block  threw  me 
into  such  a  rage  with  the  Parisians,  that  I  could  not 
prevent  myself  a  thousand  times  inwardly  calling  them 
by  the  name  of  "loafers,"  which  is  their  usual  nickname. 
For  truly  they  are  accustomed  to  be  such  fools  as  to 
occupy  themselves  with  certain  things,  which  other 
people  would  blush  with  shame  at.  Nevertheless,  if 
there  is  one  thing  they  should  be  biamed  for,  it  is  more 
for  running  to  ail  the  exécutions  which  take  place  in 
this  city,  than  for  anything  else  they  may  do.  In  spite 
of  no  week  passing  by  without  an  exécution  taking 
place  in  Paris,  there  are  people  who  regard  themselves 
as  lost  if  they  miss  one  of  them.  They  rush  there  as 
to  a  wedding,  and,  to  see  their  eagerness  and  anxiety, 
one  would  call  them  the  most  barbarous  people  in  the 
world,  since  there  is  a  kind  of  cruelty  in  seeing  one's 
fellow-creature  suffer.  I  did  what  I  could  to  pass, 
before  seeing  those  about  to  be  executed.    I  was  not  like 

I  The  Croix  du  Tiroir  or  du  Trahoir  was  at  the  corner  of 
the  Rue  de  l'Arbre  Sec  and  the  Rue  St.  Honoré. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  139 

ail  those  I  saw  around  me  :  already  I  would  hâve 
desired  to  be  a  thousand  leagues  away.  Far  from 
enjoying  thèse  kind  of  scènes,  there  was  nothing  I 
would  not  hâve  done  to  avoid  them.  For  this  reason, 
after  having  tried  to  force  my  way  through,  and  seeing 
I  could  not  succeed  because  of  the  crowd,  I  attempted 
to  retrace  my  steps.  I  was  already  well  in  the  middle 
of  the  Rue  de  l'Arbre  Sec  and  so  far  on  in  it,  that  I  was 
not  a  long  way  from  the  gibbets  which  had  been  pre- 
pared  for  those  wretched  people.  Meanwhile,  as  the 
crush  was  just  as  great  in  front  as  behind,  as  the  un- 
fortunates  came  that  way,  I  was  compelled  to  stand 
aside  like  other  people,  to  allow  the  archers  who  were 
escorting  them  to  pass.  The  leading  ones  were  already 
in  sight,  and  from  ail  appearance  the  criminals 
were  not  far  behind.  Thèse  archers  had  just  taken 
them  from  Fort  l'Evêque,  a  prison  where  coiners  are 
usually  confined.  The  condemned  men  were  accused 
of  coining  or  rather  of  having  clipped  some  pistoles,  at 
least,  so  the  murmurs  I  heard  around  me  declared.  I 
also  heard  say  that  there  was  a  woman  of  their  gang,  who 
was  very  pretty,  a  thing  which  inspired  me  with  the 
curiosity  to  turn  my  head  in  her  direction,  when  the 
cart,  in  which  she  was,  approached  me,  but  whiist 
making  endeavours  to  look  at  her,  I  descried  my 
Chevalier  de  la  Carlière,  who  was  quite  close  to  her. 
He  was  about  to  be  despatched,  together  with  another 
man  just  as  well-built  as  himself.  Never  was  man  so 
astonished  as  I  at  this  sight  and  quite  dumfounded. 
I  became  a  good  deal  more  so  a  moment  later.  The 
tumbril  having  stopped  right  in  front  of  me,  no  sooner 
did  my  chevalier  recognise  my  face,  than  he  called  out, 
"Ahl  M.  d'Artagnan,  this  is  a  nice  ending  for  a  man 


I40  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

like  myself,  who  has  moved  in  fine  society.  True  it 
is  that  I  hâve  well  deserved  my  fate.  However,  noth- 
ing  pains  me  so  much  as  that  which  I  did  by  evil 
advice.  I  caused  letters  to  be  written  by  the  person 
you  see  hère  at  my  side,   in  order  to  ruin  Madame 

She   is  in  prison  at    Pierre-Encise.      Strive 

to  liberate  her  :  it  will  not  be  difficuit,  since  I  hâve  con- 
fessed  everything  before  M.  le  Lieutenant  Criminel. 
I  ask  her  pardon  and  yours  too,  for  I  know  your 
interest  in  her." 

Thèse  words,  addressed  to  me  before  a  crowd  by  a 
man  who  was  about  to  be  hung  in  a  minute,  pained  me 
nearly  as  much  as  if  I  had  been  as  guilty  as  himself. 
Meanwhile,  as  he  again  entreated  me  to  consent  to 
forgive  him,  so  that  he  might  die  like  a  good  Christian, 
I  found  myself  forced  to  speak,  in  spite  of  the  confusion 
I  was  in.  Our  conversation  was,  nevertheless,  not  a 
lengthy  one,  as  may  be  imagined.  I  contented  myself 
with  the  answer  that  I  freely  forgave  him,  and,  the 
tumbril  passing  on  at  that  moment,  the  chevalier  went 
to  the  doom  he  deserved.  Immediately  ail  those  who 
had  heard  him  address  me  began  not  only  to  eye  me,  but 
also  to  warn  their  neighbours  that  one  of  the  malefactors 
had  recognised  an  accomplice.  In  conséquence,  I  soon 
had  a  number  of  observers,  who  expected  every  minute 
that  I  should  be  arrested,  so  that,  before  at  most  twice 
twenty-four  hours  were  over,  I  might  be  made  to  suffer 
the  same  ignominy  which  the  chevalier  had  just  under- 
gone.  Only  the  people  near  me  could  not  believe  what 
the  others  so  easily  concluded.  For,  as  they  had  heard 
word  for  word  what  the  criminal  had  said  to  me,  they 
were  well  aware  that  I  was  not  guilty,  unless  they 
wished  to  deceive  themselves.     I  became  more  con- 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  14! 

fused  than  ever,  when  I  saw  so  many  people  with  their 
eyes  fixed  upon  me.  I  strongly  suspected  what  most 
of  them  thought,  for,  as  one  is  always  far  more 
apt  to  believe  evil  than  good,  it  was  enough  that  the 
criminal  should  hâve  said  a  word  to  me  for  it  to  be 
interpreted  to  my  préjudice.  This  made  me  make  a 
fresh  attempt  to  extricate  myself  from  the  crowd  I  was 
in.  The  onlookers  were  quite  scandahsed,  because 
they  imagined  that  I  only  did  this  to  escape.  They 
accordingly  set  up  a  hue  and  cry  after  me,  no  more 
nor  less  than  if  I  had  been  a  mad  dog. 

As  thèse  criminals  were  much  like  bullies,  and  as 
the  archers  might  well  think  that  ail  this  disturbance 
arose  only  because  some  people  had  appeared  to  rescue 
them,  they  began  to  turn  their  heads  in  my  direction 
and  place  themselves  on  the  défensive.  This  caused 
some  diversion  in  my  favour.  Their  horses,  which 
were  restless,  having  jostled  the  people  who  pressed 
most  closely  upon  them,  they  in  turn  pressed  back 
upon  others,  and  thèse  did  the  same  thing  to  those 
behind  them,  so  much  so  that  never  had  been  seen 
such  disorder  and  confusion  as  then  prevailed  amidst 
ail  this  noble  assemblage.  This  stopped  me  more 
than  ever  from  extricating  myself,  and  as  the  archers 
continued  to  urge  the  condemned  towards  the  gallows, 
they  began  to  make  the  woman,  who  was  to  dance  this 
gloomy  measure,  mount  the  scaffold.  Upon  this,  each 
of  the  onlookers  began  to  avert  their  eyes  from  me,  to 
cast  them  upon  this  wretched  créature.  Accordingly,  I 
no  longer  had  any  more  cause  to  show  confusion,  and 
this  woman  having  at  last  sufîered  the  penalty  her 
crime  deserved,  and  likewise  the  two  others  after  her, 
the   exécution   was   no   sooner   over   than   the   whole 


Î42  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

crowd  dispersed,  some  in  one  direction,  somein  another, 
In  this  way  did  I  find  myself  delivered,  not  only  from 
the  predicament  I  had  been  in  for  the  last  hour, 
but  also  from  the  encounter  which  I  had  previously 
foreseen. 

Meanwhile,  the  time  arrived  when  I  was  to  pay  the 
penalty  of  the  mistake,  which  I  had  made  in  losing  the 
bill  I  had  formerly  drawn  to  Montigré/  It  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  goodness  knows  who,  but,  in  short, 
as  it  must  hâve  been  into  those  of  some  wretch  who 
tried  to  make  money  out  of  everything,  he  made  such 
search  to  discover  who  this  Montigré  might  be,  that 
he  at  last  discovered.  As  he  was  dead,  he  could  not 
approach  him  with  a  view  to  obtaining  some  présent  in 
return  for  giving  it  back  to  him,  but  as  things  were 
thus,  he  went  to  find  his  lawyer,  whom  he  asked  for 
the  name  of  his  heirs.  The  lawyer  replied  that  there 
were  none.  He  had  died  insolvent,  and  owed  one  man 
alone  more  than  ten  thousand  crowns  for  costs  and 
for  other  things  of  that  kind,  in  which  he  had  been 
cast.  The  man  enquired  who  this  man  might  be,  to 
learn  apparently,  if  he  would  be  likely  to  make  some 
arrangement  about  his  bill.  As  I  was  the  debtor,  he 
concluded  that,  if  my  enemy  got  it  into  his  hands,  he 
might  exercise  his  rights  against  me.  The  lawyer  told 
him  Rosnai's  name,  and  the  name  of  his  agent  in 
Paris.  The  individual  at  once  went  to  find  this  man  of 
business,  and,  having  enquired  of  him  where  he  could 
get  news  of  his  master,  and  seeing  him  equivocate  (for 
he  did  not  know  his  object  in  coming  to  ask  for  it),  he 
told  him  frankly  the  reason  of  his  visit.  Rosnai  was  at 
Paris,  concealed  in  a  vile  hole.  His  pettifogger  went 
I  See  Vol.  I,,  p.  52. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  143 

to  find  him,  and  reported  to  him  (as  he  knew  that  he 
was  only  hiding  on  my  account)  that  he  had  found 
an  'affair  to  cause  me  some  unpleasantness.  Rosnai 
enquired  of  him  what  this  was,  and,  having  been  told, 
replied  that  he  must  take  good  care  that  this  was  net 
some  feint  to  catch  him.  I  could  not  get  hold  of  him, 
I  was  perhaps  by  thèse  means  trying  to  lure  him  into 
some  snare.  He  was  not  so  mad  as  to  trust  in  this, 
but,  if  the  man  who  had  come  to  see  the  lawyer  was 
trustworthy,  it  would  soon  appear  by  his  not  scrupHng 
to  give  up  the  bill  without  his  being  himself  obHged  to 
appear.  The  pettifogger  thought  he  was  right,  and,  as 
he  had  told  the  man  to  return,  and  he  would  then  give 
him  his  answer,  he  awaited  him  with  confidence.  The 
man  did  not  fail  to  make  his  reappearance  ;  he  was  too 
sharp-set  to  let  such  an  opportunity  slip.  He  got  a 
few  crowns  for  his  bill,  and,  no  sooner  was  it  in 
Rosnai's  hands,  than,  by  the  advice  of  his  pettifogger 
or  from  his  own  idea  (for  he  was  malicious  enough  to 
want  no  teaching),  he  had  given  me  a  writ  secretly, 
setting  forth  my  sentence  to  pay  him  this  sum  instead 
of  Montigré.  This  writ,  which  was  preceded  by  an 
exécution  which  he  had  carried  out  in  my  house, 
seemed  drawn  up  in  due  form.  He  further  did  ail  the 
other  mean  tricks  usual  on  such  occasions,  when  people 
try  to  carry  through  anything  illégal.  He  even  got  me 
condemned  by  default.  I  took  care  not  to  oppose  it, 
because  ail  his  procédure  was  of  the  same  nature  as 
the  beginning  of  it,  that  is  to  say,  entirely  unknown 
to  me. 

Ail  thèse  proceedings  were  taken  against  me,  and 
this  master-rogue,  who  knew  how  to  plead  a  good  deal 
better    than  how  to    fight,  having  afterwards  let    the 


144  MEMOIRS  OP  D'ARTAGNAM 

matter  slumber  for  some  time,  I  of  a  sudden  found 
myself  the  victim  of  an  affront,  which  a  cleverer  man 
than  myself  could  never  hâve  avoided.  Rosnai  had 
had  me  condemned  to  pay  the  sum  of  money,  or  go  to 
prison  by  default  ;  so,  being  one  day  at  the  Palais  ^ 
with  ladies  who  wanted  to  make  some  purchases  there, 
I  found  myself  seized,  when  I  least  suspected  it,  by  a 
dozen  archers,  who  threw  me  into  the  "  conciergerie," 
before  I  had  time  to  draw  my  sword  to  stop  them 
doing  such  a  thing.  Had  I  been  alone,  I  should  a 
thousand  times  more  easily  hâve  consoled  myself  than 
at  its  happening  to  me  in  such  good  company.  At  the 
moment,  I  found  myself  utterly  crestfallen,  especially 
when  I  perceived  that  I  had  been  placed  between  two 
barriers,  so  that  the  turnkeys  might  observe  whether  I 
was  looking  well,  for  this  is  the  procédure  with  regard 
to  those  who  are  put  in  prison.  Thèse  kind  of  people 
must  hâve  time,  and  a  place  to  make  their  observations, 
so  as  to  know  their  game,  otherwise  it  might  escape 
every  day,  and  this  is  a  précaution  which  they  consider 
too  necessary  to  make  any  omissions  in. 

One  of  the  ladies  with  whom  I  had  been  was  the 
wife  of  a  conseiller  des  requêtes  at  the  Palais.  She 
had  présence  of  mind  enough  to  tell  her  husband,  who 
was  one  of  my  friends,  the  accident  which  had  just 
happened.  In  spite  of  his  being  in  his  chambers, 
where  a  matter  of  importance  was  proceeding,  it  did 
not  appear  so  pressing  to  him  as  to  go  and  see  how  he 
could  help  me,  and  he  set  out  that  morning  and  came 
to  the  "  conciergerie."    It  was  no  laughing  matter  for  me. 

I  Lace  stuffs  and  perfumes  were  sold  in  the  great  gallery  and 
Salle  des  Pas  Perdus  of  the  Palais  de  Justice.  Shops  existed 
there  up  to  1842. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  145 

I  had  been  stuck  on  a  seat  like  a  monkey,  without 
even  being  allowed  to  cover  my  face  with  my  hands. 
No  enquiries  were  made  as  to  whether  I  had  a  head- 
ache,  and,  did  I  try  to  put  up  my  hands,  a  man  would 
at  once  corne  forward  to  say,  "  Lower  your  hand, 
this  is  no  place  for  concealment."  My  conseiller 
might,  perhaps,  not  hâve  been  able  to  stop  laughing 
at  seeing  the  figure  I  eut,  had  it  not  been  that  he  was 
afraid  of  paining  me  the  more,  should  he  yield  to  his 
inclination.  He  therefore  took  a  serions  tone,  though 
he  was  in  no  mood  for  it,  and  on  his  asking  me  what 
might  be  the  cause  of  the  affront  put  upon  me,  I 
innocently  answered  that  I  had  no  idea,  as,  indeed,  was 
true.  I  must,  said  I,  hâve  been  taken  for  someone 
else,  as  I  had  nothing  against  me,  either  criminal  or 
civil.  He  retorted  that  I  had  no  curiosity  not  to  hâve 
found  eut  on  my  arrivai.  I  ought  to  hâve  enquired 
of  the  gaoler,  who  would  hâve  given  me  a  copy  of 
the  entry  of  my  committal,  had  I  asked  for  it.  In  reply 
I  said  that,  to  follow  his  advice,  I  should  first  hâve  had 
to  hâve  known  of  it.  I  hardly  knew  even  now,  when 
he  was  speaking  to  me,  what  an  entry  of  committal 
meant.  I  had  never  heard  anything  of  ail  this,  and, 
having  left  my  home  at  an  âge  when  one  knows 
nothing  about  a  prison,  I,  who  had  always  exclusively 
concerned  myself  with  a  career  of  arms,  was  now 
no  wiser  than  then.  The  only  prison  I  had  any 
knowledge  of  was  that  of  our  soldiers  ;  but,  as  he  was 
better  informed  about  thèse  things,  I  would  beg  him 
to  do  everything  necessary. 

The  conseiller,  without  answering,  ordered  the  gaoler 
to  tell  him  why  I  had  been  arrested.     The  man  at  once 
obeyed,  and,  no  sooner  did  I  learn  that  it  was  Rosnai 
VOL.  II  10 


146  ME  HOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

who  had  played  me  this  trick,  than  I  very  nearly  fell  to 
the  ground.  I  told  him  that  I  had  paid/  and  that  the 
merchant  to  whom  I  had  confided  my  money  would 
prove  it  at  the  right  time  and  place.  I  also  told  how 
he  had  returned  me  my  bill,  and  how  I  had  lost  it. 
The  conseiller  replied  that  this  was  so  much  the  worse 
for  me,  and  that  I  should  hâve  difficulty  in  getting  out 
of  this  trouble  without  paying  a  second  time.  The 
procédure,  in  virtue  of  which  I  had  been  arrested,  was 
quite  légal,  but,  luckily  for  me,  the  fortunate  thing  was 
that  I  should  not  die  of  paying  twice  over.  Though  it 
was  not  pleasant  to  do  so,  he  would,  nevertheless, 
advise  me  to  console  myself.  Fretting  was  of  no  use, 
and,  as  the  thing  was  done,  and  neither  I  nor  anyone 
else  could  help  it,  the  shortest  way  was  to  deposit  the 
sum  I  was  asked  for — I  could  afterwards  défend  myself 
as  I  might  deem  best — always  supposing  that  I  would 
not  take  his  opinion,  but,  meanwhile,  I  must,  at  ail 
events,  obtain  my  libération.  If,  added  he,  I  had  not 
the  money  upon  me  (as  happened  every  day  to  the 
greatest  people),  he  would  send  home  for  it.  He  even 
believed  that  I  should  not  hâve  to  wait  for  its  arrivai 
to  regain  my  liberty,  because,  when  he  should  hâve 
given  his  word  to  the  gaoler  to  himself  pay  out  the 
sum,  he  was  certain  that  he  would  make  no  difficulty 
about  opening  the  prison  gâtes  for  me. 

There  was  no  need  for  him  to  take  this  trouble.  I 
had  fifty  louis  d'or  with  me,  which  was  much  more 
than  was  wanted  to  get  out  of  this  business.  But,  as 
I  thought  it  very  hard  to  pay  what  I  did  not  owe,  I  do 
not  know  if  I  could  ever  hâve  reconciled  myself  to 
foUow  his  advice,  had  he  not  declared  that,  as  long  as 
I  Vol.  I.,  p.  52. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  147 

I  did  not  take  it,  I  should  never  leave  prison,  and  that, 
as  this  affair  would  take  a  long  time  to  be  argued 
before  being  cleared  up,  I  should  bave  full  time  to  be 
thoroughly  bored.  He  was  not  sure  even  that  I  ought 
not  to  rather  consent  to  the  yielding  up  of  the  coins 
which  I  had  to  deposit,  than  to  oppose  it.  No  doubts 
were  in  bis  mind  as  to  my  having  paid  the  sum  as 
I  had  described,  but,  as  I  had  no  receipt,  and  form 
and  even  law  appeared  to  be  against  me,  I  must  learn 
to  kiss  the  rod  and  leave  to  God  the  avenging  of  the 
injustice  put  upon  me.  As  he  had  once  before  said,  by 
good  luck  it  was  not  much  which  was  demanded  of  me, 
and  he  would  now  repeat  it,  so  that  I  might  not 
persist  in  prosecuting  a  suit,  which  would  give  me  more 
sorrow  than  satisfaction,  even  were  I  to  chance  to 
gain  it. 

I  was,  for  my  sins,  a  little  obstinate,  though  I  had 
always  heard  say,  that  it  was  best  to  prefer  the  opinion 
of  one's  friend  to  one's  own.  Indeed,  without  reflecting 
upon  his  advice  (so  excellent  and  so  sensible  !),  I  was 
so  self-opinionated,  that  I  would  only  believe  a  portion 
of  what  he  told  me.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  made  the 
deposit  as  he  had  advised,  but  having,  in  spite  of  him, 
tried  to  oppose  the  paying  over  of  this  money,  I  began 
to  play  a  part  in  which  there  is  never  any  honour  or 
profit.  I  tried  to  prove  how  I  had  paid  the  money. 
This  would  not  hâve  been  hard,  had  one  witnessonly  been 
necessary,  or  had  Montigré  been  still  alive.  He  would 
not  bave  refused  me  his  évidence,  and  this  would  hâve 
confirmed  that  which  the  man  whom  I  had  paid  could 
not  hâve  helped  giving,  directly  he  should  be  cited  to 
do  so.  However,  as  in  thèse  kind  of  affairs  there  are 
written  laws,  which  the  judges  are  obliged  to  follow, 

10 — 2 


148  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

they  might  be  well  aware  that  justice  was  with  me,  yet 
that  did  not  stop  them  from  condemning  me  as  the 
loser.  Nevertheless,  this  was  only  after  a  number  of 
lawsuits — as  many  on  one  side  as  the  other.  I  fell, 
by  bad  luck,  into  the  hands  of  a  lawyer  who  knew  more 
than  others  about  pettifogging.  Knowing  nothing,  I 
let  him  act,  and,  besides,  every  day  he  would  promise 
to  get  me  my  costs  paid.  In  this  way  he  got  I  do  not 
know  how  much  money  out  of  me.  But  what  hurt 
me  more  than  anything  else,  though  this  was  already 
enough,  as  I  had  not  money  at  will,  was,  that  I  myself 
was  cast  in  damages  to  Rosnai  to  the  extent  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  Hvres.  As  the  King  had  not 
yet  abohshed  personal  imprisonment  for  debt,  as  he 
has  since  done,  this  made  me  tremble.  I  had  even 
been  thrown  into  gaol  for  a  lesser  sum,  so  had  good 
reason  to  fear  I  should  be  made  to  return  there,  since 
this  debt  was  much  more  important  than  the  other, 
Besides,  had  the  King  already  forbidden  the  arrest  for 
debt  of  people,  it  would  not  hâve  affected  me,  since  he 
had  excepted  those  whose  costs  exceeded  two  hundred 
livres.  I  did  not  possess  the  money  either  in  cash  or 
in  stock,  without  selling  my  post:  so,  not  knowing 
what  to  do  to  pay  it,  I  thoroughly  hated  myself  for  not 
having  believed  my  friend. 

The  sentence  of  four  months  was,  meanwhile, 
announced  to  me,  and  thèse  had  hardly  expired,  when 
I  received  an  unsigned  note  from  an  unknown  hand. 
I  found  it  at  home  on  my  return  from  the  Comedy,  to 
which  I  had  gone.  I  was  asked  for  a  pleasant  enough 
rendezvous,  and  was  told  that  I  should  the  next  day, 
between  two  and  three  after  dinner,  find  a  hired 
carriage  drawn  up  at  three  paces  from  below  the  Porte 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  14g 

St.  Antoine.  I  was  to  get  into  it  and  would  find  a 
woman,  who  was  dying  for  love  of  me.  As  (so  the 
note  ran)  I  came  from  a  province,  where  riches  did 
not  abound,  she  would  bring  me  three  hundred  pistoles 
as  a  proof  of  her  goodwill.  Nevertheless,  she  did  not 
want  me  to  recognise  her,  which  was  the  reason  she 
would  see  me  only  with  a  mask  on  her  face.  My  want 
of  money  would  hâve  even  made  me  allow  her  to  hâve 
a  sack  over  her  head,  had  she  wished  it  !  I  betook  my- 
self  to  the  rendezvous  an  hour  before  the  appointed 
time,  so  afraid  was  I  of  missing  it.  The  lady  had  not 
yet  arrived  there,  but  only  a  short  time  elapsing  before 
I  descried  a  carriage  approaching,  I  thought  it  was 
hers  :  anyone  else  would  hâve  thought  the  same  in  my 
place,  as  it  at  once  stopped  at  the  very  spot  she  had 
sent  me  word  of.  Accordingly,  not  doubting  in  any 
way  that  it  was  she  whom  I  had  come  to  meet,  I  my- 
self  let  down  the  shutter  of  the  carriage,  for  there  were 
not  as  yet  any  fitted  with  glass  as  there  are  to-day. 
It  was  M.  le  Prince,  who,  on  his  return  from  being 
with  the  enemy,  introduced  this  fashion  into  France, 
which  was  previously  unknown  there,  and  which  has 
crept  in  since.  Be  this  as  it  may,  having  got  into  this 
carriage,  beneath  the  curtain  which  was  drawn  I 
beheld  one  of  the  most  beautiful  women  in  France  and 
one  unknown  to  me.  This  lady  had  no  mask  on  her 
face,  so  that,  not  knowing  whether  she  who  had 
penned  the  missive  had  not  announced  she  would 
wear  such  a  thing,  the  more  agreeably  to  surprise  me, 
or  whether  I  was  mistaking  one  carriage  for  another, 
"  Madame,"  said  I,  without  further  introduction,  "  is  it 
I  for  whom  you  are  waiting  hère,  or  am  I  playing  an 
indiscreet  part  by  presenting  myself  before  you  with- 


150  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

out  being  sent  for?  It  is  true  I  hâve  a  rendezvous, 
but  the  lady,  who  ordered  me  to  corne  and  find  her, 
also  informed  me  at  the  same  time  that  she  would  wear 
a  mask  on  her  face,  so  I  know  not  how  to  interpret 
what  I  see.  I  came  hère  with  the  idea  of  doing  her 
good  service  without  being  acquainted  with  her,  but 
what  would  I  not  do  if  'tis  you — you  who  are  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  women  in  the  world  ?  "  My  compli- 
ments, which  promised  much,  might  perhaps  hâve 
made  her  pay  some  attention  to  my  person,  had  not 
another  had  possession  of  her  heart,  so,  after  having 
blushed  at  my  words  and  at  seeing  herself  alone  with 
me,  a  man  whom  she  did  not  know,  she  replied,  that  it 
was  not  I  she  expected,  and  she  would  advise  me 
without  formality  to  get  out  of  the  carriage,  for  fear 
of  missing  my  rendezvous.  The  coachman,  who  had 
seen  me  lower  the  shutter,  had  at  the  same  time  got 
off  his  box  to  close  it  upon  me.  He  had  then  re- 
mounted  it,  and  awaited  the  order  of  one  of  us  as  to 
where  he  was  to  go,  before  touching  it  again.  Accord- 
ingly,  wishing  myself  to  lower  the  shutter,  so  as  not 
to  disoblige  the  lady,  just  as  if  it  had  not  been  painful 
to  me  to  see  such  a  dainty  morsel  fall  into  the  hands  of 
another,  I  found  myself  faced  by  three  or  four  men 
who  bade  me  not  take  so  much  trouble,  since  there  was 
no  need  for  it. 

Thèse  men  ail  had  the  look  of  archers,  and  this  they 
indeed  were:  so,  in  spite  of  my  knowing  that  the  period 
of  four  months  had  not  yet  expired,  I  feared  that 
Rosnai  had  once  again  played  me  one  of  his  tricks, 
and  turned  pale  as  death.  The  lady  did  the  same  no 
less  than  myself:  she  was  married,  and  being  aware 
that   she   had    no    easy-going    husband,   immediately 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  151 

suspected  that  it  was  he  who  was  having  her 
arrested.  At  the  same  time,  four  archers  placed 
themselves  at  both  the  shutters,  two  on  one  side,  two 
on  the  other,  and  thus  conveyed  us  to  the  Grand 
Châtelet.  We  were  both  separated,  and  the  lieu- 
tenant criminel  having  been  ordered  to  interrogate  me 
on  behalf  of  the  court,  where  the  husband  was  held  in 
much  esteem,  I  did  not  trifle  with  this  magistrate.  I 
frankly  declared  to  him  that  I  did  not  know  this  lady, 
and  that,  another  fair  one  having  given  me  a  rendezvous 
at  the  same  place  where  I  had  found  her,  I  had  got 
into  her  carriage  ;  that  she  had  at  once  told  me  to 
leave  it,  because  she  was  not  the  woman  I  took  her  for. 
I  had  tried  to  do  her  bidding,  but  had  been  at  once 
arrested.  For  her  part,  the  lady  said  just  the  same 
thing.  Nevertheless,  on  being  asked  what  she  had 
corne  to  do  there,  and  being  heckled  about  it,  she  had 
présence  of  mind  enough  to  say  that  she  had  come  to 
watch  for  her  husband,  who  was  perpetually  flirting. 
He  was  pretty  well  known  for  this,  because  indeed  he 
was  always  doing  what  he  wanted  to  prevent  others 
from  embarking  upon  ;  so,  having  given  more  colour  of 
truth  to  her  defence  than  she  could  hâve  hoped  for, 
her  husband  was  advised  to  leave  the  whole  matter 
alone,  since,  whatever  success  he  might  hâve,  it  would 
but  recoil  upon  his  own  head.  His  friends  even  told 
him  that  he  ought  to  be  well  pleased  that  his  wife  had 
cleared  herself  as  she  had  done  ;  that,  as  there  was 
neither  profit  nor  honour  in  going  deeper  into  the 
affair,  this  was  the  best  advice  they  could  give  him. 
He  would  not  believe  them,  knowing  that  there  was  a 
certain  courtier  who  pressed  his  wife  hard,  and  so  took 
as  much  pains  to  hâve  himself  declared  a  cuckold  as 


152  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

anyone   else  would    hâve   done   to   hâve   proved   her 
chaste. 

As  it  was  not  I  upon  whom  his  suspicion  fell,  he 
abandoned  the  proceedings  he  had  taken  against  me, 
sooner  than  those  he  had  begun  against  her.  I  let 
them  dispute  as  long  as  they  hked,  and,  having  left 
prison  without  trying  to  sue  him  for  expenses,  damages 
and  interest,  in  spite  of  my  lawyer  promising  to  obtain 
me  a  judgment  for  them,  I  felt  not  at  ail  pleased  with 
this  adventure,  which^had  made  me  miss  my  rendezvous. 
Above  ail,  I  regretted  the  three  hundred  pistoles,  which 
were  to  hâve  been  brought  me,  and  of  which  I  stood 
in  such  great  need.  For  now  the  appointed  four 
months  were  about  to  expire,  and  I  do  not  think  there 
were  eight  days  left.  Nevertheless,  the  lady  who  had 
written  to  me  had  been  at  the  rendezvous,  and  had 
even  arrived  there  a  minute  after  I  had  been  arrested. 
She  had,  in  conséquence,  found  a  whole  crowd  of 
people,  as  occurs  on  thèse  sort  of  occasions.  She  had 
been  curious  to  know  what  this  meant,  and  had  made 
her  coachman  find  out  the  reason.  As  there  is 
always  to  be  found  someone  who  is  better  informed 
than  other  people,  she  had  been  given  a  fair  account 
of  its  cause.  Apparently,  some  archer  had  not  been 
able  to  hold  his  tongue,  and  the  news  had  spread  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Such  an  accident  should  hâve 
made  this  woman  chaste  at  the  expense  of  the  other 
lady.  Like  her,  she  had  a  husband,  but  either  because 
he  was  less  jealous  than  the  other  man,  or  that  the 
lady's  example  did  not  aifect  her,  she  waited  for  me 
for  two  good  hours  without  moving  from  where  she 
was.  Ail  the  same,  this  did  not  fail  to  weary  her  ;  she 
was  far  from  thinking  that  I  it  was  who  had  been 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  153 

captured  with  the  lady,  so  she  still  continued  to  think 
that  I  should  arrive  from  one  moment  to  the  other. 
Nevertheless,  this  was  very  useless,  since  for  some 
time  already  I  had  been  imprisoned.  At  last,  having 
passed  there  the  time  I  hâve  mentioned,  and  not 
wanting  to  waste  any  more,  she  went  away  very 
puzzled  as  to  what  she  ought  to  think  of  me.  Indeed, 
if,  on  the  one  hand,  she  could  imagine  that  I  had 
missed  the  rendezvous  from  lack  of  esteem  for  herself, 
or  perhaps,  even  because  I  had  felt  disgusted  at  the 
idea  of  the  mask  which  she  had  told  me  she  would 
wear,  on  the  other,  she  felt  sure  that  the  three  hundred 
pistoles  she  had  spoken  of  would  be  a  sufficiently 
attractive  feature  to  make  me  overlook  everything  else. 
Accordingly,  whilst  she  did  not  know  what  to  think 
of  my  behaviour,  she  learned  from  current  talk  that 
I  had  been  arrested  with  the  lady.  This  at  first 
inspired  her  with  an  inexpressible  jealousy.  She  at 
once  concluded  that  she  need  search  for  no  other 
reason  for  my  missing  her  rendezvous,  but,  the  matter 
having  been  cleared  up  by  my  examination  and  that  of 
her  supposed  rival,  she  calmed  the  uneasiness  of  her 
mind.  She  was  of  opinion  that  she  had  been  wrong 
to  accuse  me,  and  that  she  was  the  more  obliged  to 
wish  me  well,  since  this  catastrophe  had  happened 
through  love  of  herself;  so,  no  sooner  had  she  left  the 
Palais,  than  she  wrote  me  a  second  note.  It  was  just 
in  the  same  style  as  the  first,  except  that,  instead  of 
the  Porte  St.  Antoine,  she  chose  the  Porte  St.  Honoré 
for  her  rendezvous.  There  was  also  this  différence, 
that,  instead  of  the  three  hundred  pistoles  she  had  the 
first  time  told  me  of,  she  now  promised  me  four 
hundred  as  a  recompense,  as  she  said,  for  my  having 


154  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

been  imprisoned  on  her  account.  I  thought  this  note 
written  in  the  finest  manner  in  the  world,  though 
anyone  else,  who  was  not  to  get  so  much  good  out 
of  it,  might,  perhaps,  hâve  deemed  it  more  shameless 
than  well  written.  I  did  not  fail  to  appear  at  the  spot 
she  appointed  at  the  right  hour,  and  no  jealous  person 
was  there  to  raise  any  obstacle  at  this  rendezvous  as 
on  the  other  occasion. 

We  did  not  enter  any  house  during  the  whole  of  the 
time  we  passed  together  after  dinner.  We  only  took  a 
turn  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  and,  as  I  was  eager  to 
see  her  face  uncovered,  I  besought  her  so  persistently, 
that  I  did  not  believe  she  could  refuse  me  this.  She 
had,  however,  such  control  over  her  mind  that  what- 
ever  entreaty  I  might  make  proved  useless.  Her  reply 
was,  that  she  did  not  wish  to  forfeit  myesteem,  a  thing 
which  must  infallibly  happen,  were  she  foolish  enough 
to  grant  what  I  asked.  As  long  as  I  did  not  see  her 
face,  she  was  sure  of  my  not  quitting  her  for  anyone 
else,  or,  at  least,  did  I  do  so,  I  should,  perhaps,  gain 
nothing  by  changing.  Indeed,  she  was  aware  that 
if  nature  had  illtreated  her  in  one  way,  it  had  recom- 
pensed  her  in  another.  She  must  stop  there,  and  not 
lose  by  her  own  fault  in  one  minute  what  might  with  a 
little  discrétion  be  preserved  as  long  as  our  intimacy 
lasted.  By  this  she  wanted  me  to  understand  that  she 
was  ill-favoured,  and  would  lose  by  showing  herself. 
Nevertheless,  I  would  not  believe  a  word  of  it,  and 
was  none  too  wrong.  We  returned  in  this  way  to 
Paris,  and,  having  asked  me  for  another  rendezvous,  I 
told  her  she  might  choose  it  wherever  she  liked,  for 
she  would  always  find  me  ready  to  be  at  her  service. 
This   next    time   we   went   towards    Vincennes,    and, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  155 

observing  that  I  entreated  her  to  enter  some  house 
without  always  remaining  in  the  carriage,  as  we  had 
done  on  the  other  occasion,  she  asked  me  if  I  knew  of 
any  from  personal  knowledge,  and  I  made  reply,  that 
I  knew  of  none  :  dissipation  was  not  my  way,  but 
I  thought  that,  everywhere  we  might  go,  we  should  be 
as  well  received  as  if  we  were  skilled  in  such  matters. 
In  the  outskirts  of  Paris  everyone  made  a  trade  and 
profession  of  pleasing  his  neighbour,  so  we  had  only 
to  stop  at  the  first  door  to  get  it  opened  on  both  sides. 
She  burst  out  laughing  at  my  answer  and,  tellingme  to 
take  her  where  I  Hked,  for  she  abandoned  herself  to  my 
guidance,  we  betook  ourselves  to  Montreuil  to  a  house 
where  there  was  a  very  fine  garden.  I  asked  her  the 
same  favour  as  I  had  done  on  our  first  interview — that 
is  to  say,  to  complète  my  happiness  by  showing  herself 
to  me.  She  replied  that  I  would  then  always  be 
incorrigible.  She  had  already  warned  me  that,  had 
I  the  slightest  esteem  for  her,  such  a  thing  would 
make  me  instantly  lose  it.  Her  answer  did  not  satisfy 
me,  so  much  so  that  I  pressed  her  more  than  ever. 
Upon  this  she  said  that,  as  I  was  so  obstinate  in  my 
idea  that  there  were  no  means  of  dissuading  me,  she 
was  ready  to  meet  my  wishes  at  the  risk  of  everything 
which  might  happen.  At  the  same  time,  she  took  off 
her  mask  and,  indeed,  did  make  me  colder  than  marble. 
Nevertheless,  it  was  not  on  account  of  what  she  had 
seemed  to  threaten  me  with — far  from  that,  she  was  as 
beautiful  as  a  fine  day — but  because  I  at  once  recog- 
nised  her  as  the  wife  of  one  of  my  best  friends. 
Indeed,  this  is  why  I  had  sometimes  already  told 
myself,  while  observing  her,  that  she  had  much  of  her 
appearance.      Nevertheless,   what   had    banished    the 


156  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

thought  of  its  being  the  same  lady  was,  that  I  did 
not  in  any  way  consider  her  in  a  condition  to  make  me 
the  présent  she  had  done.  Her  husband  was  not  rich, 
and  she  must  hâve  won  this  money  at  some  game 
I  did  not  know  of,  to  find  herself  in  a  state  to  bestow 
such  gênerons  gifts. 

She  at  once  thoroughly  understood  that  my  position 
as  an  intimate  friend  caused  me  a  tremendous  struggle. 
"  So,"  she  said,  continuing,  "  I  was  right  in  telHng  you 
that,  no  sooner  shouldyou  see  me,  thanyou  would  at  once 
cease  to  love  me.  I  am,  nevertheless,  no  less  lovable, 
and  I  ought  to  appear  to  you  much  more  so  than  any 
other  woman,  if  you  will  thoroughly  reflect  on  every- 
thing.  Think  what  I  am  doing  hère  for  your  sake, 
and,  since  my  love  for  you  is  the  sole  cause,  be  con- 
vinced  that  you  can  never  be  grateful  enough.  Be 
sure,  I  repeat,  that  you  can  never  pass  in  the  mind  of 
honourable  people  except  as  an  ungrateful  man,  if  you 
ever  forget  that  the  power  of  my  love  has  made  me 
not  only  override  the  honour  I  owed  my  husband,  but 
also  everything  which  I  owe  to  myself.  It  also  seems 
to  me,"  she  went  on,  "  that,  without  in  any  way  re- 
proaching  you,  you  should  take  into  account  the  présent 
I  hâve  made  you.  You  are  aware  that  we  do  not 
•'shovel  up  money,"  if  I  may  use  the  phrase,  to  show 
you  that  my  husband  and  myself  are  not  well  off,  but  I 
learned  in  short,  that  you  needed  this  help,  and,  although 
it  costs  me  nothing,  as  I  won  it  at  basset,  this  does  not 
disprove  the  fact  that  any  other  woman  who  had  less 
considération  for  you  would  hâve  been  eager  to  keep  it." 

I  know  not  if  it  was  thèse  words  which  of  a  sudden 
changed  my  mind,  or  if  her  beauty  alone  produced  that 
effect,  but  at  last,  forcing  myself  to   quite  forget  her 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  157 

lîusband  and  giving  myself  entirely  to  her,  I  did  what 
I  could  to  demonstrate  that  she  would  never  hâve 
reason  to  complain  of  me.  Nevertheless,  I  felt  scruples 
at  having  taken  her  money,  and  wanting  to  return  her 
what  still  was  left  me  of  it  (for  I  had  already  spent  a 
good  part  to  extricate  myself  from  the  affair  with 
Rosnai),  she  would  never  consent  to  receive  it  back. 
She  told  me  that,  when  a  woman  went  so  far  as  to 
give  her  heart,  everything  else  should  cost  her  nothing. 
This  was  the  only  reason  she  would  give  me  and,  as  ail 
her  ways  were  just  as  fascinating  as  her  appearance, 
I  began  to  love  her  so  madly  that  I  would  not  live  a 
moment  without  her.  We  had,  however,  in  spite  of 
our  mutual  affection  (for  she  loved  me  no  less  than  I 
loved  her)  to  soon  separate.  The  war  at  Bordeaux 
still  continued,  and,  as  it  was  a  rising  which  might 
produce  civil  war  ail  over  again  in  the  heart  of  the 
State,  M.  le  Cardinal  thought  it  best  to  send  me  to 
that  province.  For  this  reason,  I  was  not  pleased 
when  his  Eminence  told  me  to  grease  my  boots  to  set 
out  for  Bordeaux  ;  but,  as  at  Court  one  must  not  say 
ail  one  thinks,  and  also  still  less  show  that  one  gauges  a 
Minister's  thoughts,  I  looked  just  as  delighted  as  if 
I  had  been  satisfied.  He  fixed  my  departure  for  the 
i5th  of  February,  and  made  me  corne  into  his  closet 
the  evening  before  ;  he  told  me  to  set  out  for  Poitou, 
and  I  should  find  orders  there  as  to  what  I  was  to  do. 
He  had  previously  sent  there  the  Abbé  de  Beaumont, 
Bishop  of  Rhodes,  though  he  was  the  King's  tutor,  and 
this  post  does  not  allow  the  holder  to  leave  the  Court. 
He  was  an  old  courtier  who  had  served  his  apprentice- 
ship  in  a  good  school.  He  had  been  one  of  Cardinal 
Richelieu's  men,  and  it  is  he  whom  we  hâve  since  seen 


158  UEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Archbishop  of  Paris  under  the  name  of  Péréfixe.* 
This  abbé  had  taken  as  pretext  for  the  voyage  his 
wanting  his  native  air  to  recover  from  a  languishing 
sickness.  Nevertheless,  he  was  about  as  ill  as  I  was, 
but  a  certain  quack  then  at  Court  had  given  him  some 
drug,  which  made  the  complexion  yellow  at  will,  and 
he  had  made  use  of  it  to  cause  people  to  beheve  that 
he  was  really  unwell.  The  Abbé  de  Beaumont  was  not 
one  of  the  greatest  geniuses  in  the  world  ;  his  good 
luck  and  his  friends  had  conducted  him  more  than 
Personal  worth  to  the  position  he  occupied.  Besides, 
the  Cardinal  who,  very  far  from  wanting  to  hâve  the 
King  brought  up  as  befitted  a  great  prince,  would  hâve 
been  delighted  to  hâve  made  a  sham  king  of  him,  so 
as  to  always  keep  the  power  in  his  own  hands,  had 
taken  more  care  to  choose  a  tutor  devoted  to  his  own 
interests  than  a  clever  man.  Nevertheless,  as  it  is  the 
smallest  minds  which  make  the  most  fuss,  so  that  one 
may  think  them  everything  they  are  not — no  sooner 
had  I  gone  to  see  the  Abbé  de  Beaumont,  than  he  took 
it  into  his  head  to  look  at  me,  just  as  he  might  hâve 
done  at  one  of  his  schoolboys.  He  adopted  the  tone 
of  a  schoolmaster  towards  me,  and  told  me  that,  M.  le 
Cardinal  honouring  me  as  he  was  doing  by  his  friend- 
ship,  I  ought  not  only  to  be  very  grateful,  but  further 
try  to  render  myself  worthy  of  his  esteem.  The  very 
best  thing  I  could  do  to  succeed  in  this  was,  not  only 
to  be  very  discreet,  but  also  not  to  exceed  by  a  syllable 
the  orders  given  me  by  him  or  by  those  he  relied  on. 
Having  thus  read  me  this  lesson  in  a  few  words,  he  added, 
to  show  me,  I  think,  that  he  had  not  wasted  his  time 
I  Hardouin  de  Beaumont  de  Péréfixe,  1605-1671,  author  of 
the  life  of  Henri  IV. 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  159 

under  his  former  master,  that  not  only  must  I  proceed 
to  Bordeaux  incognito,  but  also  disguised  as  a  hermit  ; 
for  this  reason,  I  had  done  well  to  let  my  beard  grow, 
since  it  was  necessary  that  my  whole  get-up  should 
correspond  with  my  dress. 

I  had  indeed  allowed  it  to  grow  by  order  of  his 
Eminence.  It  may  be  that  the  abbé  and  himself  had 
simultaneously  resolved  on  my  wearing  the  dress  in 
question,  or  that  the  minister  had  decided  upon  this 
merely  by  advice  of  the  former.  It  had  often  made 
my  mistress,  who  did  not  Hke  a  long  beard,  grumble. 
I  had  not  known  what  excuse  to  make  to  her,  so  much 
so,  that  we  had  very  nearly  quarrelled  about  it.  She 
had  accused  me  of  being  very  ill-natured  in  such  an 
earnest  manner,  that  I  had  often  had  it  on  the  tip  of 
my  tongue  to  tell  her  that,  if  I  disobeyed  her,  it  was 
only  in  spite  of  myself  ;  that  I  had  had  superior  orders 
to  do  what  I  had  done,  and  that  she  had  only  the 
minister  to  blâme  if  I  did  not  obey  her.  Meanwhile, 
as  I  already  knew  that  secrecy  must  be  maintained, 
thoUgh  the  abbé  had  not  as  yet  given  me  my  lesson, 
I  contented  myself  with  telling  her  to  reconcile  my 
love  and  my  duty,  that  there  was  a  mystery  in  ail  this, 
and  that  I  would  some  day  tell  her  the  reason.  This 
woman,  who  resembled  most  of  her  sex,  that  is  to  say, 
was  extremely  curions,  would  not  grant  me  the  time  I 
asked,  She  worried  me  to  tell  her  my  secret  at  once, 
and,  taking  care  not  to  do  so,  I  was  obliged  to  look  out 
for  what  is  known  as  a  "  bouncing  lie,"  to  put  her  off 
the  scent.  Accordingly,  instead  of  telling  her  the  real 
reason  for  my  letting  my  beard  grow,  I  made  her 
believe  that  M.  le  Cardinal  had  bet  me  a  compan3r.in 
the  Guards  that  I  could  never  remain  a  year  without 


i6o  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

having  it  shaved  off,  that  I  had  not  wanted  to  tell  hei 
before,  for,  as  this  wager  had  been  made  only  between 
us  two,  he  might  perhaps  not  be  pleased,  were  he  to 
discover  that  I  had  spoken  to  anyone  about  it.  For 
this  reason,  I  would  beg  her  not  to  speak  to  no  matter 
who  on  the  subject,  since  she  would  most  likely  be 
sorry  that  I  should  lose  such  a  chance  through  a  slip 
of  the  tongue.  She  sincerely  promised  to  say  nothing, 
but,  being  a  woman,  and  as,  the  more  they  are 
entreated  to  do  anything,  the  less  they  do  it,  I  had  no 
sooner  gone  away  than,  the  secret  lying  heavy  on  her 
soûl,  she  tried  to  disembarrass  herself  of  it.  One  of 
her  friends  having,  whilst  chatting,  told  her  that  I 
must  hâve  become  hypochondriacal,  by  reason  of  my 
trying  to  distinguish  myself  from  other  people  by  a 
great  beard  as  I  was  doing,  she  made  reply  that,  were 
ail  mad  people  like  me,  lunatic  asylums  would  no 
longer  hâve  any  use.  A  company  in  the  Guards  was 
well  worth  the  trouble  ofwearing  a  beard,  and  there 
was  no  one  in  France  who  would  not  be  well  pleased, 
just  as  I  was,  to  obtain  such  a  good  post  so  cheaply. 
The  person  whom  she  told  would  hâve  understood 
nothing  of  ail  this,  had  she  not  explained  this  mystery, 
but  eventually,  as,  after  saying  so  much,  ail  the  rest 
cost  her  nothing,  she  soon  informed  him  of  everything 
I  had  let  her  know. 

The  man  to  whom  she  told  this  news  chanced  to  be 
just  as  credulous  as  she  had  been  :  so,  the  rumour 
going  from  him  to  someone  else,  and  from  the  latter  to 
a  number  of  people,  it  eventually  got  round  ail  the 
Court,  that  the  beard  I  had  set  out  with  was  a  certain 
token  of  my  advancement.  This  was  the  more  easily 
believed,  as  his  Eminence  would  often  make  wagers, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNA^  i6i 

which  gave  much  more  reason  for  talk  than  this  one. 
True  is  it  that  this  was  when  he  knew  what  he  was 
about  and  was  sure  to  be  the  winner.  For  instance, 
whenever  there  was  anyone  competing  for  some 
bénéfice,  and  he  had  money  to  pay  for  it,  he  would  ask 
him  if  he  would  wager  that  he  would  not  soon  obtain  a 
bishopric  or  an  abbey.  The  wager  was  proportionate 
to  what  it  might  be  worth,  for,  at  the  same  time, 
he  would  stipulate  that  it  should  be  a  bishopric  or  an 
abbey  of  such  an  income,  and,  as  the  Cardinal  could 
bestow  them  as  he  chose,  it  always  turned  out  that  he 
was  a  certain  winner. 

As  it  was  for  me  to  obey  ail  orders  given  on  behalf 
of  his  Eminence,  the  Abbé  de  Beaumont  had  no  sooner 
told  me  that  I  must  become  a  hermit,  than  I  had  the 
dress  of  one  made.  He  himself  took  care  to  furnish 
me  with  the  stuff,  which  his  brother  had  made  up  in 
his  house,  as  if  he  was  afraid  that,  did  I  procure  it 
elsewhere,  it  would  cause  our  secret  to  be  discovered. 
I  had  the  dress  put  in  a  bag,  and  having  taken  post  to 
the  army  of  the  Duc  de  Candale^  which  was  around 
Bordeaux,  he  sent  it  for  me  into  the  town,  where  it 
arrived  before  myself.  I  entered  it  in  another  get-up, 
just  as  if  I  had  been  a  plain  soldier,  who  was  retiring 
to  his  province.  The  town  was  divided  into  several 
factions,  one  of  the  principal  of  which  was  the  one 
called  the  "  Ormistes."  This  was  a  mass  of  every 
kind  of  riff-raff  such  as  had  formerly  risen  against 
the  King  of  Spain  in  the  Kingdom  of  Naples,^  which 

1  Louis  Charles  Gaston  de  Nogaret  de  Foix,  Duc  de  Caudale, 
son  of  the  Duc  d'Épernon,  1627-1658. 

2  The  Neapolitan  revolt  against  the  Duc  d'Arcos,  the 
Spanish  Viceroy,  headed  by  Masaniello,  which  broke  out  on 
July  7th,  1647. 

VOL.    II  II 


i6a  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

nevertheless  had  corne  near  losing  him  this  fine  state. 
This  name  arose  from  the  insurgents  having  held  their 
first  meetings  beneath  an  elm.  Their  number  had  at 
first  been  very  limited,  as  usually  is  the  case  at  the 
commencement  of  a  revolt.  But  it  had  so  much 
increased  since,  that  it  was  now  fully  forty  thousand 
men.  They  had  from  the  first  been  obnoxious  to 
everyone  ahke,  for  they  breathed  but  cruelty  and 
pillage.  They  maintained  themselves  by  their  numbers 
and  the  cleverness  of  their  leaders,  who  made  the  peu- 
ple believe  that  they  would  never  lower  their  arms,  till 
ail  taxes  should  be  abolished.  From  what  they  said, 
they  even  aspired  to  change  the  form  of  government, 
and  establish  a  republic  in  the  province  after  the 
example  of  what  had  been  done  in  England,  and  with 
this  idea  they  had  sent  to  Cromvvell  to  crave  his  pro- 
tection in  such  a  great  undertaking;  either  because 
they  really  did  contemplate  such  a  thing,  or  vvere 
merely  anxious  to  hâve  it  believed,  because  of  their 
interests  being  concerned.  However,  this  man,  who 
was  a  clever  politician,  had  not  wanted  to  embroil 
himself  in  their  business,  nor  in  that  of  M.  le  Prince. 
In  spite  of  this,  it  was  not  on  account  of  his  not 
having  sent  to  entreat  him  just  as  they  had  done,  but 
Cromwell  was  of  opinion  that,  whatever  fine  proposai 
might  be  made  him  by  either  side,  there  was  too  much 
danger  attached  for  him  to  trust  in  it.  He  knew  that 
he  already  had  too  many  enemies  in  England,  without 
his  drawing  yet  fresh  ones  upon  himself  in  France, 
where  the  populace  would  soon  return  to  its  duty. 
He  knew  its  affection  for  his  Majesty,  and  that  our 
nation  was  in  no  way  like  his  own,  which  thinks  no 
more  of  kings  than  of  the  humblest  private  individuals. 


LEFT  the  camp  of  M.  de  Candale  dis- 
guised  as  I  hâve  just  said.  At  a  hundred 
paces  from  the  town,  I  found  a  body  of 
thèse  "Ormistes,"  who  were,  at  least,  four  or 
five  thousand  men  in  number.  The  Duc  de 
^  "  Candale  had  got  me  a  passport  from  one  named 
Orteste,  their  gênerai,  as  well  as  from  the 
gênerais  of  the  other  factions  ;  so,  having  nothing  to 
fear  from  their  brutality,  I  gave  them  an  account  of 
whence  I  came  and  where  I  was  going,  as  they  wanted 
it  from  my  own  lips,  though  they  had  already  read  it  in 
my  passport.  One  of  their  captains,  Las  Florides  by 
name,  before  whom  I  had  been  conducted,  then  began 
to  call  me  his  comrade,  and  to  déclare  that  I  must  join 
with  him.  I  appeared  to  be  a  good  fellow,  and  he 
would  make  me  benefit  more  by  bearing  arms  in  his 
Company  than  I  had  ever  done  in  the  King's  troops. 
Meanwhile,  he  wanted  me  to  do  away  with  my  beard, 
because  it  did  not  at  ail  befit  a  soldier,  I  replied  that, 
as  long  as  I  had  been  a  soldier,  I  had  been  turned  out 
like  one,  but  now  that  I  thought  of  taking  up  another 
profession,  I  equipped  myself  according  to  the  state  of 
life  I  contemplated.     He  at  once  asked  me  if  I  wanted 

II — 2 


i64  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

to  be  a  capuchin,  because  only  the  capuchins  wore  long 
beards.  I  rejoined  that  I  was  eager  to  be  one,  since 
there  was  nothing  better  than  to  dedicate  oneself  to 
God,  but,  as  it  was  necessary  to  hâve  studied  to  be 
admitted  amongst  them,  and  I,  so  to  speak,  did  not 
know  A  from  B,  I  should  content  myself  with  being  a 
hermit.  I  was  anxious  to  tell  him  this,  so  that,  if  by 
chance  he  were  to  see  me  in  the  dress  I  had  bought,  I 
should  not  be  an  object  of  suspicion  to  him. 

Hearing  me  speak  thus,  some  Ormistes  took  to 
jeering  at  me.  As  they  were  heedless  of  their  salvation 
by  bearingarms,  as  they  were  doing,  against  their  King, 
they  did  not  understand  that  a  man  could  thus  dream 
of  changing  his  life.  Las  Florides,  who  no  more  than 
they  dreamt  of  doing  the  duty  of  a  Christian  (which 
consists  just  as  much  in  rendering  one's  prince  what 
is  due  as  in  rendering  it  to  God),  and  who  was  a  scoffer, 
told  them  they  were  wrong  to  be  astonished  at  such  a 
trifling  thing.  Did  they  not  know  very  well  that  the 
Devil  had  become  a  hermit  when  he  had  grown  old, 
and  that  everyone  was  eager  to  copy  him  ?  By  this, 
he  wanted  to  tell  them  that,  when  a  man  was  laden 
with  crimes,  God  sometimes  was  merciful  enough  to 
let  him  reform  himself.  However,  either  because  they 
would  not  enter  into  the  joke,  or  because  they  were 
inclined  to  make  him  chatter,  they  declared  that,  if  the 
Devil  had  only  become  a  hermit  when  he  was  old,  I 
ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  do  the  same  thing,  as  I  did 
not  as  yet  appear  to  be  thirty  years  of  âge.  This  was 
giving  up  the  world  too  soon,  and,  if  he  would  take 
their  advice,  he  would  oblige  me  to  make  war  in 
Company  with  himself.  Las  Florides  then  told  me 
that  I  must  clearly  perceive  that  everyone  opposed  my 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  165 

idea,  and  that  he  woiild  not  let  me  go.  I  laughingly 
retorted,  as  he  was  speaking  in  the  same  joking  way, 
that  I  would  appeal  to  their  gênerai  Orteste.  My 
passport  was  signed  by  him,  and  he  would  never  permit 
its  provisions  to  be  broken  ;  in  any  case,  were  he  to 
oppose  me  as  those  about  me  now  were  doing,  I  would 
at  least  ask  him  to  make  me  the  hermit  of  their  troops, 
so  as  in  some  way  to  carry  out  my  oath.  I  had  sworn 
to  be  one,  and  mayhap  he  would  not  let  me  be  a 
perjurer.  There  were  almoners  in  régiments,  and 
hermit  or  almoner  was  nearly  the  same  thing.  Las 
Florides  declared  that  I  had  no  need  to  rely  upon  this 
favour,  for  he  would  grant  it  me  just  as  well  as  the 
gênerai,  and  I  had  but  to  speak.  His  real  reason  for 
wanting  me  was,  because  he  had  observed  in  my 
passport  that  I  had  served  twelve  entire  years  in  the 
Guards.  It  must  be  known  that  he  had  of  a  sudden 
been  made  one  of  the  chiefs  of  thèse  rebels,  without 
having  any  other  qualification  than  having  killed  a 
number  of  oxen  and  sheep.  He  had  been  a  butcher 
ail  his  life,  but,  because  he  had  been  used  to  shedding 
the  blood  of  thèse  animais,  his  comrades  had  thought 
that  he  would  just  as  easily  shed  that  of  men.  Never- 
theless,  whenever  he  had  any  order  to  give,  he  found 
himself  as  much  embarrassed  as  he  had  been  the  first 
time  he  had  to  help  others  to  kill  an  ox.  For  this 
reason,  he  was  eager  for  me  to  remain  with  him  to  tell 
him  what  to  do  when  there  was  need.  He  much  pre- 
ferred  my  telling  him  to  one  of  his  own  people,  because 
he  looked  upon  me  as  much  less  important  than  those 
who  had  raised  him  to  his  présent  position. 

His  wishes  and  mine  were  pretty  much  the  same. 
His  idea  was  to  keep  me  by  him,  and  mine  to  stay,  so 


i66  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

as  to  find  out  anything  which  went  on  amongst  the 
rebels.  Acccrdingly,  not  standing  out  for  the  con- 
ditions I  had  proposed  to  him,  I  found  myself  un- 
expectedly  in  a  position  to  render  his  Majesty  great 
services.  The  rebels,  though  they  knew  nothing  of 
warfare,  did  not  fail  to  make  themselves  feared,  and 
knew  very  well  how  to  serve  their  own  interests.  They 
stopped  ail  the  vessels  which  went  up  and  down  the 
Garonne,  and  this  brought  them  in  great  sums.  Las 
Florides  became  my  friend,  because  I  would  some- 
times  warn  him  against  certain  foolish  things,  into 
which  he  was  about  to  plunge,  and  which  would  hâve 
made  him  a  laughing-stock.  Nevertheless,  I  did  this 
only  when  the  King's  interests  were  not  concerned.  I 
also  gave  two  or  three  pièces  of  information  to  M.  de 
Caudale,  which  were  of  great  use  to  that  gênerai,  and 
by  which  he  did  not  fail  to  profit.  The  first  of  thèse 
was,  that  I  indicated  to  him  the  spies  of  Las  Florides  in 
his  camp,  not  that  he  should  hâve  them  arrested,  but 
to  catch  their  sender  in  a  snare.  I  had  already 
adopted  my  hermit's  dress,  and  was  known  by  no 
other  name  amongst  the  rebels  than  as  the  hermit  of 
"  those  of  good  résolve."  Meanwhile,  false  information 
had  been  conveyed  to  Las  Florides  by  his  spies,  whom 
the  Duc  de  Caudale  had,  owing  to  my  information, 
deceived,  and,  trusting  entirely  in  the  reports  made 
him,  he  took  twelve  hundred  Ormistes  to  make  an 
attack  with.  Las  Florides  took  me  with  him  without, 
nevertheless,  letting  me  know  any  of  his  plans.  Both 
of  us,  however,  set  out  in  a  very  happy  frame  of  mind, 
he  by  reason  of  his  great  hopes,  and  I  on  account  of 
mine.  I  was  mounted  as  a  regular  St.  George,  Las 
Florides  having  lent  me  a  Spanish  horse,  which  was 


MEMOIRS    OF   D'ARTAGNAN  167 

well  worth  a  hundred  good  pistoles.  I  had  my  robe 
tucked  up  to  my  belt,  and,  as  my  eyes  sparkled  with 
joy  to  see  him  on  the  point  of  being  defeated,  my 
appearance  pleased  him  so  much,  that  he  owned  to  me 
that,  even  had  I  not  told  him  of  my  having  been 
a  soldier,  he  would  hâve  clearly  perceived  it. 

In  this  way  we  discussed  one  thing  and  another, 
without  my  trying  to  ask  him  where  he  was  going.  I 
should  even  hâve  been  very  sorry  if  he  had  volunteered 
the  information.  I  wished  him  to  go  so  far  ahead  that 
there  could  be  no  turning  back,  and  so  my  advice  to 
him  must  come  so  late  that  it  would  be  useless. 

When  we  reached  the  spot  where  the  spies  had 
informed  Las  Florides  that  he  would  be  easily  able 
to  overcome  a  small  body  of  the  King's  troops,  he 
found  eight  hundred  men  instead  of  the  two  hundred 
he  had  expected.  The  first  disagreeable  thing  which 
happened  and  made  him  suspect  the  truth  of  the 
reports  furnished  him,  was  the  report  of  a  pièce  of 
ordnance.  To  speak  the  truth,  it  was  not  a  loud 
report,  being  but  a  four-pounder,  but,  small  as  it  was, 
it  did  not  fail  to  frighten  Las  Florides  a  good  deal.  It 
was  a  little  field-piece,  which  the  people  of  the  duc 
had  brought  with  them,  to  announce  to  the  larger  body 
of  troops  that  they  must  be  on  their  guard  and  they 
would  soon  see  the  enemy  retreat. 

Directly  Las  Florides  heard  the  report  he  changed 
colour,  and,  observing  that  terror  had  already  overcome 
him  to  such  a  degree  that  he  no  longer  knew  what  he 
was  doing,  I  asked  him  if  the  people  of  Bordeaux  had 
not  some  garrison  near  the  spot.  He  answered  no, 
and,  asking  me  in  turn  what  ail  this  meant,  I  replied, 
not  wishing  to  flatter  him,  that  it  meant  nothinir  else 


i68  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

except  that  he  was  betrayed.  I  tried  much  more  to 
further  increase  his  fears  than  to  allay  them,  and  so, 
having  hardly  the  strength  left  to  answer  me,  I  noticed 
that  he  was  hesitating,  and  even  stammering,  as  if  he 
was  already  at  the  point  of  death. 

In  this  way  we  proceeded  in  some  sort  of  order 
to  the  entrance  of  the  défile,  which  I  knew  very  well 
was  guarded.  No  sooner  did  Las  Florides  descry  the 
enemy  than  he  cried  out  to  me  that  ail  was  lost.  I 
asked  him  if  he  would  not  try  to  assault  it,  but  he  took 
care  not  to  answer,  having  already  fled,  and  I  soon 
lost  sight  of  him.  His  men  were  in  despair  at  seeing 
themselves  thus  abandoned.  I  now  began  to  play  the 
swaggerer,  and  told  them  they  must  rush  to  the 
assault,  since  there  was  no  other  way  of  saving  our- 
selves.  Some  of  them  believed  me  and  got  themselves 
killed  like  madmen.  Others  laid  down  their  arms, 
whilst  others  (but  a  very  small  number)  were  lucky 
enough  to  escape.  Meanwhile,  as  there  were  some 
amongst  thèse  runaways  who  had  thrown  down  their 
arms  to  be  able  to  escape  quicker  and  more  safely, 
I  picked  up  a  musket,  with  which  I  fired  a  shot  into 
my  cloak  which  I  had  put  against  a  tree  at  thirty 
paces  distance.  There  were  three  balls  in  the  musket, 
which  each  made  a  hole,  and  having  next  thrown  it 
over  my  shoulders,  I  went  back  to  the  city  quite  proud 
of  the  réputation  I  should  gain  amongst  the  rebels 
for  having  run  such  a  great  risk,  without  meeting  with 
any  other  accident  than  having  my  cloak  shot  through. 
Not  a  soûl  had  seen  what  I  had  done  ;  I  had  taken 
good  care  of  that — and,  as  I  was  sure  that  no  one 
would  ever  believe  that  thèse  holes  were  my  handiwork, 
I  conceived  that  this  would  be  useful  to  me  to  still 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  169 

further  gain  the  confidence  of  the  insurgents,  and  that 
not  one  of  them  would  fail  to  take  me  for  a  desperate 
man. 

Las  Florides  reached  Bordeaux  before  me,  having 
luckily  for  himself  found  a  way  guarded  by  no  one. 
He  was  very  much  ashamed  of  his  mishap,  especially 
after  having  got  out  of  the  crowd,  as  he  had  done, 
without  having  dared  to  fire  a  shot.  He  was  delighted 
that  I  had  escaped  as  well  as  himself,  perhaps  as 
much  from  love  of  his  horse,  which  he  had  thought 
lost,  as  from  love  of  myself.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
to  perceive  the  shots  in  my  cloak.  I  had  taken  care 
to  put  them  in  a  prominent  place,  and  had  been 
careful  not  to  make  them  in  the  back  part.  I  wanted 
to  acquire  the  réputation  of  having  shown  a  bold  front 
to  the  foe,  so  as  to  further  sustain  the  high  estimation 
which  I  expected  Las  Florides  would  hold  me  in. 
Indeed,  he  did  not  fail  to  tell  everyone,  and  Orteste 
amongst  others,  that  I  was  a  first-class  man  both  for 
giving  advice  and  carrying  it  out.  That  I  had  pre- 
dicted  everything  which  had  happened,  and  that,  had 
he  been  willing  to  believe  me,  he  would  not  hâve  made 
such  a  forward  fight  as  he  had  done.  Having  thus 
the  approbation  of  my  gênerai,  I  took  care  not  to 
raise  suspicions  in  anyone.  Everybody  wanted  to  see 
my  cloak,  so  as  to  marvel  at  my  adventure.  It  made 
the  round  of  the  city  for  four  or  five  days,  and  there 
was  no  respectable  house  which  did  not  désire  to 
see  it. 

The  Abbé  Sarrasin,^  secretary  to  the  Prince  de  Conti, 
to  whom  the  Abbé  de  Beamont  had  recommended  me 

I  Jean  François  Sarrasin,  1603-1654,  a  writer  whose  works 
are  now  completely  forgotten. 


170  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

to  enter  upon  my  negotiations,  did  not  knovv  how  to 
reconcile  evçrything  reported  of  me  with  the  part  I 
had  corne  to  play  on  behalf  of  the  Court.  To  negoti- 
ate  on  its  behalf  and  fight  against  it,  were  two  things 
which  appeared  to  him  incompatible.  He  spoke  to 
me  about  it,  begging  me  to  explain  matters.  I  did  not 
think  fit  to  do  so,  for  I  knew  that  there  were  things, 
the  knowledge  of  which  it  was  good  to  reserve  for  one- 
self  alone.  I  merely  told  him  that  there  were  certain 
times,  in  which  chance  occasionally  interfered,  such, 
for  instance,  as  my  to-day  finding  myself  amongst  the 
Ormistes,  which  I  had  in  no  way  anticipated  when 
coming  to  Bordeaux,  but,  as  I  was  now  pledged  to 
them,  I  must  of  necessity  play  my  part  to  the  end.  It 
was  for  him  to  end  ail  this  when  he  liked,  and  the 
sooner  the  better. 

This  abbé  was  exactly  the  same  man  from  whose 
pen  we  to-day  hâve  some  works,  which  are  valuable 
enough,  and  which  he  issued  under  his  own  name. 
M.  le  Cardinal  had  promised  him  money  and  a  bénéfice, 
if  he  could  detach  his  master,  the  Prince  de  Conti,  from 
the  side  of  the  Prince  de  Condé.  Sarrasin  at  once  told 
me  that  this  would  be  very  difficult,  because  he  drew  a 
great  pension  from  the  Spaniards,  and  was,  besides, 
fond  of  being  in  command,  a  thing  he  would  lose  once 
he  returned  to  his  duty  ;  in  addition,  he  had  a  mistress 
in  the  town,  who  would  oppose  such  an  arrangement. 
She  was  clever  enough  to  clearly  perceive  that  he 
would  proceed  to  the  Court  directly  he  had  made  his 
peace  with  it.  He  was  fond  of  the  ladies,  and  it  was 
very  much  to  be  feared  that  at  certain  moments  he 
might  confide  to  her  what  was  going  on. 

AU  this  was  literally  true  ;  so,  having  informed  the 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 


171 


Abbé  de  Beaumont  of  it,  so  that  he  might  let  the 
Cardinal  know,  I  warned  him  at  the  same  time  that,  if 
he  wanted  to  overcome  this  obstacle,  I  thought  it  best 
for  his  Eminence  to  send  me  some  fripperies  from  Paris 
to  give  to  the  lady.  By  thèse  means,  I  should  get 
into  her  good  grâces,  and  then  one  might  utilise  her 
to  finish  the  work  Sarrasin  had  begun.  That  mean- 
while,  so  that  the  prince  might  be  favourably  infîuenced, 
I  thought  a  wife  should  be  proposed  to  him.  M.  le 
Cardinal  had  still  sufficient  nièces  to  marry  off,  not  to 
be  embarrassed  to  find  one  for  him.  His  ecclesiastical 
State  was  not,  I  added,  to  his  liking,  though  the  cassock 
served  well  enough  to  conceal  the  defects^  of  his  figure. 
Thus,  this  might  perhaps  be  arranged  as  well  as  every- 
thing  else,  since  he  was  of  a  disposition  not  to  fall  less 
in  love  with  the  nièce  of  his  Eminence,  than  he  had 
done  a  year  or  two  back  with  Mademoiselle  de 
Chevreuse. 

The  Abbé  de  Beaumont  had  returned  to  Court  with- 
out  my  knowing  anything  about  it.  His  Eminence 
had  seen  fit  to  make  him  come  back  from  Poitou  from 
fear  of  a  more  prolonged  absence  arousing  some 
suspicion.  I  was  consequently  much  longer  than  I 
thought  in  receiving  an  answer  and  at  once  concluded 
that  it  was  but  because  I  had  asked  for  some  présent. 
I  knew  the  Cardinal  well  enough  to  be  aware  that  his 
practice  was  to  only  give  as  little  as  possible.  Never- 
theless,  no  one  could  hâve  been  more  mistaken.  My 
proposition  of  a  marriage  of  his  nièce  with  the  Prince 
de  Conti  had  so  altered  his  ideas,  that  he  had  no 
sooner  scanned  my  letter,  than  he  resolved  to  believe 
me  in  everything.     He  had,   therefore,  at  once  given 

I  The  Prince  de  Conti  was  hunch-backed. 


172  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

orders  for  the  présents  I  asked  for  to  be  purchased. 
He  had  them  conveyed  to  me  by  means  of  the  Duc  de 
Candale,  and  I  received  them  from  the  hands  of  his 
secretary,  whom  he  had  sent  into  the  town  to  negotiate 
about  the  ransom  of  some  prisoners  taken  on  both 
sides.  It  did  not  appear  novel  or  extraordinary  that 
this  duc  should  send  some  frippery  into  it.  He  had 
stayed  there  quite  long  enough,  while  his  father  was 
its  governor,  to  hâve  some  mistresses  in  the  place.  It 
accorded  well  with  his  âge  and  inclinations,  for  he  was 
extremely  libéral  and  was  only  twenty-four  years  old. 
People  even  thought  they  knew  for  whom  thèse 
présents  were  meant,  always  supposing  that  it  had 
been  the  duc  who  sent  them.  For  there  were  others 
who  suspected  it  to  be  his  father,  because,  whatever 
âge  he  might  be,  he  was  no  more  nor  less  given  to 
gallantry  or  love  than  his  son. 

Nevertheless,  the  arrivai  of  présents  in  the  parcel 
coming  to  this  secretary  might  perhaps  not  hâve  been 
discovered,  had  not  the  Ormistes,  partly  by  force  and 
partly  on  account  of  the  jealousy  which  prevailed 
between  the  Prince  de  Conti  and  the  Comte  de 
Marcin,  got  the  gâtes  of  the  city  into  their  charge. 

Thèse  Ormistes,  having  thus  control  of  the  gâtes, 
would  not  let  the  parcel  enter  without  inspecting  it. 
They  had  been  afraid  lest  the  Duc  de  Candale  should 
hâve  put  something  prejudicial  to  themselves  in  it, 
knowing  him  to  be  devoted,  not  only  to  the  interests 
of  his  Majesty,  but  also  to  those  of  the  Cardinal. 
They  had,  therefore,  looked  thoroughly  into  it  to  the 
very  least  things,  and  especially  into  the  présents  sent 
me.  For,  as  they  were  extremely  avaricious  of  other 
peoples'  goods,  everything;  precious  or  rare  tempted 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  173 

them  in  a  way  the}'  could  not  resist.  Accordingly, 
an  hour  after  the  parcel  had  arrived,  its  contents  were 
known.  This  disconcerted  me  ;  I  wanted  to  make  my 
gifts  secretly,  and  I  perceived  my  hopes  shattered. 
My  grief,  however,  was  not  to  be  compared  to  that  of 
the  wives  of  two  conseillers  of  the  Parlement  of 
Bordeaux,  who  expected  that  thèse  présents  were  for 
them.  The  duc  had  flirted  with  both  of  them,  so 
much  so  that,  each  thinking  that  her  rival  had  received 
them  to  her  loss,  they  very  nearly  disfigured  one 
another  at  the  house  of  one  of  their  mutual  friends 
where  they  by  chance  met.  At  first  they  began  to 
mutually  bicker  over  nothing  ;  then,  insensibly  passing 
to  bad  language,  both  were  so  indiscreet  as  to  reproach 
each  other  for  having  accepted  thèse  présents  without 
observing  that  the  people  présent  must  infallibly  take  it 
as  a  proof  of  their  lack  of  virtue.  I  learned  of  this 
dispute  and  was  delighted  at  it,  reflecting  that  I  should 
do  no  harm  by  fomenting  the  false  reports,  since 
nothing  could  occasion  a  more  favourable  diversion 
for  myself.  There  were  also  some  tiffs  between  the 
mistresses  of  the  Duc  d'Épernon.  They  were  under 
the  impression  that  thèse  présents  came  from  him  and 
that  they  had  been  distributed  by  the  secretary  to  the 
favourite,  without  their  having  obtained  the  smallest 
share. 

Whilst  ail  this  was  going  on,  and  everybody  was 
delighting,  like  myself,  in  setting  thèse  women  one 
against  the  other,  I  very  softly  insinuated  myself  with 
the  lady  with  whom  I  had  to  do.  My  cloak  adventure 
had  procured  me  my  iirst  interview.  She,  like  other 
people,  had  been  curious  to  see  it  ;  and  either  because 
I  flattered  myself,  or  because  I  had  some  reason  for 


174  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

doing  so,  I  imagined  that  I  perceived  in  her  eyes 
something  so  favourable  towards  me,  that  I  took  it 
into  my  head  that,  had  I  been  able  to  appear  before 
her  in  a  différent  dress  from  the  one  I  was  now  in,  I 
might  perhaps  hâve  made  some  impression  upon  her 
heart.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  my  first  conversation 
with  her  that  I  thought  I  perceived  such  goodwill 
towards  me.  I  built  up  on  ail  this  a  plan,  which 
should  hâve  frightened  me,  considering  my  great  beard, 
but  which  I  did  not  cease  to  try  and  carry  out.  I 
resolved  to  play  the  lover.  Nevertheless,  I  did  not 
want  to  do  so  openly.  I  deemed  that  a  little  mystery 
would  become  me  better,  especially  as  I  had  to  do 
with  a  woman  who  must  feel  proud  of  seeing  herself 
loved  by  a  prince  of  the  blood.  I  had  adopted  the 
expédient,  the  better  to  play  the  part  I  was  taking,  of 
entering  every  house  to  ask  for  alms,  not  that  I  had 
need  of  doing  so,  for,  thanks  be  to  God,  I  did  not  lack 
for  money.  I  had  two  hundred  pistoles  in  a  purse, 
and,  in  addition,  I  had  as  much  as  I  liked  to  eat  at 
the  house  of  Las  Florides.  For  this  reason,  he  was 
unwilling  that  I  should  thus  go  and  beg,  telling  me 
every  day  that  it  was  neither  seemly  nor  honourable 
for  a  man  who  wanted  for  nothing.  He  even  declared 
that  doing  what  I  did  was  robbing  the  poor  of  bread. 
My  excuse  was,  that  I  was  thus  carrying  out  my  calling. 
I  replied  that  mendicity  should  be  the  appanage  of  a 
hermit,  and  pulled  him  up  short  with  such  a  good 
excuse  ;  so,  seeing  that  ail  his  remonstrances  were  of  no 
avail,  he  let  me  do  as  I  liked.  Indeed,  besides  thinking 
that  this  was  the  essence  of  my  new  vocation,  I  always 
learned  something  new  in  the  houses  which  I  entered. 
I  tried  to  profit  by  this,  and  not  always  unsuccessfuUy. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  175 

I  went  very  often  to  the  lady's  house,  and  even  at 
hours  when  everybody  was  not  allowed  to  go.  I  would 
even  occasionally^  from  fear  of  meeting  someone,  catch 
her  at  the  moment  of  rising.  I  wanted  to  take  my 
time  to  advance  my  interests  with  her,  or,  to  be  more 
accurate,  to  advance  those  of  the  Cardinal.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  taking  care  to  call  often,  she  began  to  delight 
in  touching  my  heart,  She  suspected  that  it  was 
already  shghtly  affected,  since  I  visited  her  so  fre- 
quently.  Accordingly,  deeming  it  either  a  thing  to  be 
proud  of  or  a  real  achievement,  to  be  able  to  say  that 
she  had  captivated  a  poor  hermit,  she  made  use  of  ail 
the  charms  she  possessed,  and  of  ail  she  could  borrow^, 
to  place  me  amongst  the  number  of  her  admirers. 

I  soon  perceived  her  intention.  It  was  not  hard  to 
divine,  even  had  it  been  only  from  the  flattering  things 
she  would  say  to  me.  Ten  times  a  day  she  would  talk 
of  my  courage,  and,  when  I  played  the  hypocrite  to 
make  her  speak  the  more,  she  would  déclare  that  it 
was  useless  for  me  to  prétend  so  much  modesty,  since 
my  cloak  showed  well  enough  what  I  was  !  Eventually, 
I  let  her  say  what  she  liked,  thinking  that  I  should 
gain  more  by  agreeing  with  ail  she  said  than  by  con- 
tradicting  her  as  I  had  at  first  done.  I  was,  indeed, 
eager  to  make  her  ponder  over  my  vocation,  almost 
giving  her  to  understand  that  I  was  not  what  I 
appeared  to  be.  With  this  end  in  view,  I  replied 
one  day  when  she  was  again  speaking  to  me  in 
this  strain,  that  she  would  cease  to  wonder,  did  she 
know  ail  I  knew.  She  was  unable  to  make  out  what 
I  meant  by  this,  and,  as  to  drop  a  word  with  two 
meanings  is  enough  to  strangely  excite  a  woman's 
curiosity,  this   lady,  who  was   even   more   inquisitive 


176  MEMOIRS  OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

than  others,  would  not  let  me  alone  till  I  had 
explained  this  riddle.  To  excite  her  the  more,  I  said 
that  I  had  let  this  sHp  by  chance,  and  that  she  must 
pay  no  attention  to  it.  I  succeeded  none  too  badly  in 
my  plan  ;  indeed,  far  from  taking  this  hterally,  she 
showed  herself  so  assiduous  in  trying  to  get  my  secret 
eut  of  me,  that  I  was  at  last  obliged  to  bid  her  take 
patience  at  least  till  the  morrow.  She  had  great 
trouble  in  consenting,  but  eventually,  seeing  that  the 
space  of  time  was  not  a  long  one,  she  made  me  promise 
to  return  the  next  day  at  the  same  time.  I  came  even 
earlier  than  she  had  bidden  me,  so  much  so  that, 
having  found  her  in  bed,  she  at  once  told  me  that  I 
was  a  man  of  my  word  and  that  there  was  pleasure  in 
having  to  do  with  me.  I  rejoined  that  my  hope  was 
always  to  be  able  to  retain  this  good  opinion  in  her 
thoughts,  but  that  I  was  much  afraid  of  losing  it,  once  I 
should  hâve  satisfied  her  curiosity.  For  this  reason  I 
had  not  the  strength  to  tell  her  anything,  so  that,  if 
she  wanted  to  know  my  secret,  she  must  herself  take 
the  trouble  to  read  it  from  a  paper  on  which  I  had 
written  it  and  which  I  was  quite  ready  to  give  her,  the 
moment  she  should  command  me  to  do  so. 

The  lady  was  more  inquisitive  than  discreet,  so, 
though  she  much  suspected  that  this  could  only  be  a 
déclaration  of  love  that  I  wanted  to  give  her,  she  told 
me  without  ceremony  that  she  would  take  everything 
I  might  présent  to  her.  I  was  holding  a  packet,  quite 
ready  to  give  it  her  or  replace  it  in  my  pocket  accord- 
ing  to  the  answer  she  might  give,  but  seeing  her 
already  stretching  out  a  hand  to  take  it,  I  gave 
her  that  which  I  had  been  holding,  and  at  once  went 
out  as  if  nothing  had  happened.     I  took  my  time  for 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  i77 

her  to  undo  it.  She  had  plainly  seen  me  leave  and 
might  hâve  called  me  back,  had  she  desired  to  do  so. 
But,  having  felt  that  the  packet  I  had  given  her  was 
heavier  than  a  letter,  and  not  knowing  what  it  could 
be,  she  wanted  to  examine  it  sooner  than  anything 
else.  This  packet  contained  fifty  sheets  of  paper  one 
upon  the  other,  just  as  if  I  had  been  eager  to  keep  her 
occupied  till  I  had  made  my  exit.  At  ail  events  she 
believed  that  this  had  been  my  reason  for  having 
arranged  such  a  number,  that  she  thought  she  would 
never  corne  to  the  end  of  them.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
after  having  had  the  patience  to  turn  them  ail  over 
one  after  the  other,  and  to  examine  them  to  see  if 
there  was  not  one  with  writing  upon  it,  she  found 
underneath  a  portrait  in  miniature  which  was  on  the 
lid  of  a  box. 

She  could  not  divine  what  this  meant,  not  finding  that 
this  portrait  had  any  connection  with  what  I  had 
promised  her.  At  first  this  made  her  form  a  strange 
opinion  about  me.  She  believed  me  to  hâve  more 
than  one  profession,  and  taking  it  into  her  head  that 
I  had  undertaken  to  give  her  this  présent  for  someone 
else,  she  opened  the  box  to  see  who  my  employer 
might  be.  She  was  wrong  to  entertain  this  suspicion 
as  she  did.  I  had  never  been  the  sort  of  man  to  work 
for  another,  and  though  at  Court  this  kind  of  in- 
dividual  is  not  very  rare,  such  a  thing  had  always 
been  distasteful  to  me,  so  much  so,  that  those  who 
indulged  in  it  had  never  passed  as  anything  else  in 
my  estimation  but  as  persons  devoid  of  honour  and 
undeserving  of  being  even  looked  at.  For  this  reason, 
no  matter  what  other  good  points  they  might  hâve,  I 
esteemed  them  even  less  than  mountebanks  or  quacks. 

VOL.  r  12 


178  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

However,  putting  ail  this  on  one  side,  the  lady,  having 
done  so  much  as  to  undo  ail  thèse  papers,  went  on  to 
open  the  box,  as  she  was  not  the  woman  to  stop  half- 
way.  There  she  found  my  picture,  not  at  full  length, 
but  from  my  belt  upwards,  as  is  usual  in  thèse  sort  of 
portraits.  I  was  attired  in  a  cuirass  like  a  hero  of  the 
first  rank.  It  is  true,  I  had  not  copied  Besmaux,  who, 
having  his  full-length  picture  recently  painted,  mounted 
on  a  fine  horse,  a  patch  at  the  corner  of  his  eye,  and 
armed  from  head  to  foot,  has  also  arranged  that  his 
hand  should  be  adorned  with  a  bâton  with  fleurs  de  lis 
upon  it,  such  as  is  given  to  gênerais  in  the  army  ! 
Nevertheless,  ail  his  services  reduce  themselves  to 
what  I  hâve  before  spoken  of,  and  to  having  since 
kept  watch  over  the  prisoners  at  the  Bastille  !  Be 
this  as  it  may,  not  having  been  in  a  mood  to  imitate 
him,  I  did  not  fail  to  pass  for  quite  another  person 
in  the  lady's  mind  to  the  one  I  had  described  myself  as 
being  in  my  passport.  Beginning  in  conséquence  to 
examine  me  more  closely  than  she  had  yet  done,  she 
discovered  that,  were  I  to  rid  myself  of  my  costume 
and  my  beard,  I  should  be  well  worth  her  listening  to 
me.  I  left  her  two  days  without  returning  to  see  her, 
so  as  to  give  her  ail  the  time  necessary  to  adopt  such 
a  line  of  conduct  as  the  circumstances  warranted. 
Before  committing  myself,  I  was  anxious  to  see  whether 
she  would  be  in  a  mood  to  inform  the  Prince  de  Conti 
of  what  had  happened.  Sarrasin,  whom  I  had  not 
only  told  that  I  wanted  to  play  the  lover,  but  who 
further  had  himself  advised  me  to  do  so,  had  promised 
to  let  me  know,  in  case  she  should  hâve  a  désire  to 
speak  about  it.  His  master  had  no  secrets  from  him, 
especially  in  thèse  kind  of  affairs.     By  pretending  to 


MEMOIRS  OF  DaRTAGNAN  fj9 

approve  of  ail  his  foUies,  Sarrasin  had  found  means  of 
having  them  recounted  to  him  one  after  the  other  ! 
He  even  wrote  most  of  the  prince's  letters  about  them, 
as  well  as  others  of  greater  conséquence.  Sarrasin,  I 
repeat,  having  to  warn  me  of  everything  which  was 
taking  place,  I  could  hâve  got  out  of  the  business  by 
sounding  a  retreat  in  good  time.  Ail  my  measures 
were  already  taken  to  that  end.  I  knew  of  a  place 
where  the  Ormistes  kept  a  bad  guard,  and  whence  it 
would  be  easy  to  reach  the  army  of  the  Duc  de 
Candale.  However,  I  had  no  need  of  resorting  to 
such  an  expédient.  The  lady  had  never  disfigured 
anyone  for  murmuring  soft  things  in  her  ear.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  very  far  from  wanting  to  begin  with  me, 
she  was,  on  the  contrary,  dying  of  impatience  to  see 
me  again,  so  as  to  learn  much  which  she  could  not 
make  out.  I  seemed  to  her  to  be  a  sort  of  man  much 
more  worthy  of  monopolising  her  heart  than  the 
prince,  who  believed  himself  to  possess  it.  Besides, 
being  an  inquisitive  woman,  as  I  hâve  just  said,  she 
wanted  to  know  who  I  might  be  and  by  what  chance  I, 
who  came  from  the  Court,  had  fallen  in  love  with  her, 
and,  finally,  whether  she  was  the  true  cause  of  my 
having  exchanged  my  soldier's  dress  for  a  hermit's  robe. 
I  had  taken  aîTThe  necessary  measures  with  Sarrasin. 
He  had  instructed  me  well  enough;  besides,  I  myself 
was  not  too  obtuse  by  nature,  which  had  furnished  me 
with  a  fairly  good  tongue  and  Sound  enough  judgment 
to  boot.  True  it  is  that  it  is  not  for  me  to  say  so,  but 
in  short,  what  use  is  there  in  pretending  modesty,  when 
truth  is  in  question  ?  Every  kind  of  deceit  is  good  for 
nothing,  and  it  is  much  better  to  boldly  take  the  field 
than  remain  a  hypocrite  for  I  do  not  know  how  long. 

12 — 2 


î8o  MEMOIRS  OF  DARTAGNAN 

Eventually,  the  two  days  of  which  I  hâve  spoken 
having  passed  without  my  hearing  any  news,  I  returned 
to  the  lady's  house.  I  chose  a  time  at  which  she  was 
still  in  bed.  Without  ceremony,  I  sat  down  by  her 
bed-side  and  pretended  to  hardly  dare  look  at  her,  the 
better  to  cause  her  to  believe  in  my  thorough  earnest- 
ness.  "Is  it  you,  M.  l'Hermite?"  said  she.  "Will 
you  not  tell  me  how  much  longer  your  disguise  is  to 
last?"  "As  long  as  I  can  keep  it  up,  madame,"  I 
quickly  retorted,  "  since  I  hâve  come  from  Paris  ex- 
pressly  to  see  you,  and  would,  indeed,  hâve  gone  to 
search  for  you  at  the  end  of  the  worJd,  had  there  been 
need."  She  told  me  laughingly  that  I  must  then  be 
extraordinarily  in  love  ;  so,  perceiving  that  she  wanted 
to  laugh,  I  deemed  that  I  ought  to  laugh  too.  I  began 
to  be  enterprising,  but  the  lady,  being  of  opinion  that 
it  was  a  little  too  soon  for  this  kind  of  thing,  checked 
my  véhémence  and  told  me  that,  though  I  was  a  monk 
in  dress  only,  I  had  assimilated  ail  the  monkish  in- 
clinations, when  I  had  assumed  the  robe  I  now  wore. 
Monks,  at  least,  were  accused  of  wanting  to  come  to 
the  point  directly  they  could,  in  which,  indeed,  they 
were  none  too  wrong,  once  they  found  women  in  a 
mood  to  humour  them,  but,  as  regards  herself,  who 
did  not  wish  to  be  one  of  thèse,  I  must  not  only 
remember  whom  I  was  with,  but  also  show  her  more 
respect.  With  a  courtier's  effrontery,  I  rejoined  that, 
even  were  she  not  the  lady  for  a  monk,  I  could  not 
show  her  more  respect  than  by  doing  what  I  had 
done.  Respect  could  only  arise  from  great  esteem, 
and  one  could  not  show  a  lady  that  one  really  respected 
her,  except  by  desiring  to  enjoy  her  faveurs. 

This  seemed  quite  a  novel  kind  of  morality  to  her, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  i8l 

and  she  would  hâve  nothing  to  do  with  it.     I  thus  had 

to  contain  myself,  in  violence  to  my  own  feelings.     For 

very  little  was  wanted  to  excite  me,  when  I  was  priding 

myself  on  taking  the  place  of  a  prince  of  the  blood. 

Meanwhile,  though  she  placed  limits  on  my  ardour,  I 

thought  I  discerned  that  she  did  so  rather  for  form's 

sake  than  from  real  decency.     For  this  reason,  without 

wishing  to  put  me  out  of  countenance  any  more  than 

she  had  done  when  I  had  given  her  my  portrait,  she 

enquired  of  me  how  long  it  was  since  I  had  fallen  in 

love  with  her  and  how  such  a  thing  had  happened  ? 

Indeed,  unless  I  were  to  let  her  know,  she  could  form 

no  idea,     She  knew  that  I   had   only  come  into  the 

city   a   short   time   back,   that    I    had   the  same   day 

assumed  the   garb   I    now  wore  ;    so,  if  I   had   only 

adopted  it  on  her  account,  as  I  was  now  trying  to  make 

her  believe,  my  passion  must  hâve  been  already  well 

aroused  before  I  left  the  place  whence  I  had  come.     I 

had  plainly  told  her,  when  I  had  tried  to  enter  upon 

intimate  relations  with  her,  every  sort  of  thing  which  I 

thought  likely  to  prove  tempting,  and,  as  this  disguise 

was  not  one  of  the  least  useful  tricks  in  my  bag,  I  had 

taken  good  care  not  to  be  behindhand  with  it.    Accord- 

ingly,  it  now  being  merely  a  question  of  satisfying  her 

curiosity,    I   declared  that,  if  she  would   search   her 

memory  thoroughly,   she  would   remember   a  certain 

painter,  who  had  been  with  the  Prince  de  Conti  only 

about  five  or  six  months  before.     This  would  be  the 

easier  for  her  to  do,  because  she  herself  had  made  him 

paint  her  portrait.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  had  kept  a 

copy  for  himxself  at  the  same  time,  and,  having  seen  it 

in  his  workroom  at  Paris,  I  had  thought  it  so  beautiful 

that  I  had  endeavoured  to  obtain  it  at  no  matter  what 


l82  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

price.  I  had,  in  conséquence,  given  him  ail  he  had 
asked  for  it,  and,  from  often  casting  my  eyes  upon  it,  I 
had  fallen  so  much  in  love  with  the  person  it  depicted, 
that  I  had  determined  to  corne  and  find  her.  I  had 
learnt  from  this  painter  whose  portrait  it  was  and 
where  I  might  find  the  original.  He  had,  besides, 
told  me  that  I  was  not  the  only  one  who  had  let 
himself  be  captivated.  The  Prince  de  Condé  had 
given  her  his  heart,  and,  as  it  was  a  dangerous  thing 
to  avow  oneself  the  rival  of  a  person  of  that  rank,  I 
had  decided  that  I  could  do  no  better  than  conceal 
my  passion  from  him  beneath  the  garb  I  now  wore. 
Besides,  I  imagined  that  it  was  absolutely  necessary 
for  me  to  adopt  a  disguise,  for  I  might  be  recognised 
from  having  been  seen  at  Court.  I  had,  therefore, 
allowed  my  beard  to  grow,  so  that  there  was  not  a  soûl 
who  to-day  was  not  taken  in. 

Hère  is  the  account  I  gave  her.  It  did  not  prove 
displeasing,  as  she  was  vain  enough  to  take  such  a 
story  seriously.  She  considered  that  her  worth  was 
doubled  by  it,  and  having  asked  to  see  the  copy  which 
I  had  just  told  her  of,  I  showed  her  one  which 
Sarrasin  had  had  specially  made  for  me  by  the  best 
painter  of  the  town.  This  I  kissed  thousands  of  times 
before  her,  to  better  and  better  persuade  her  that  what 
I  had  just  related  was  not  a  fable.  I  did  not  woo  her 
badly  by  doing  this,  and  as  she  was  a  woman,  and 
there  is  none  who  is  not  weak  enough  to  take  pleasure 
in  seeing  herself  loved,  even  though  it  be  but  by  a 
groom,  she  told  me  with  a  gracious  air  that,  whether 
ail  I  had  just  told  her  was  a  fabrication  or  the  truth, 
I  had  narrated  it  with  so  much  grâce,  that  she  had 
derived  almost  as  much  enjoyment  from  it  as  when 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  183 

she  was  at  a  play.  She  next  wanted  to  know  who  I  was, 
wishing  apparently  to  décide  from  what  I  might  say 
about  my  rank,  if  I  was  worthy  to  fill  the  place  of  a 
lover  of  such  conséquence  as  hers  was. 

I  was  very  near  passing  myself  off  for  quite  another 
person  than  I  was,  so  as  to  further  flatter  her  vanity. 
But,  eventually  considering  that  someone  might  recog- 
nise  me,  and  that  this  could  not  happen  without  my 
being  put  to  shame,  I  made  myself  out  neither  greater 
nor  less  than  God  had  caused  me  to  be  born.  Never- 
theless,  I  was  very  much  mortified  at  being  yet  a 
subaltern  (though  I  was  not  yet  as  old  as  are  now 
Servon  and  Soupir,  who  both  held  only  the  same 
rank  I  held  then,  and  who  hâve,  ail  the  same,  already 
passed  the  greater  portion  of  their  life  in  it),  and 
considered  my  réputation  was  affected  by  not  being 
as  yet  a  captain.  In  spite  of  this,  as  in  the  provinces 
it  is  thought  that  everything  which  approaches  the 
King's  person  is  rather  worthy  of  envy  than  compas- 
sion, the  humble  individual  that  I  was  in  no  way 
disgusted  the  lady.  I  even  made  daily  progress  in  her 
good  grâces,  so  much  so  that  I  perceived  myself  in  a 
condition  to  shortly  propose  to  her  to  make  the  Prince 
de  Conti  return  to  his  duty. 

It  is  true  that  what  thoroughly  served  me  to  gain 
her  confidence  was  my  presenting  her  with  every- 
thing the  Cardinal  had  sent  me.  I  began  by  the 
smallest  object,  because  I  had  not  yet  told  her  that 
ail  this  came  from  him.  It  was  I  who  obtained  the 
crédit  for  it,  so  I  was  eager  that  my  gift  should 
appear  proportionate  to  my  means,  or  at  least  that, 
if  it  should  seem  in  any  way  beyond  them,  she  might 
attribute  it  to  my  affection.     She  was  not  ungrateful, 


i84  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

deeming  that  she  ought  to  do  everything  for  a  man 
who  was  doing  more  for  her  than  he  really  could.  I 
was  just  as  well  treated  as  she  treated  the  Prince  de 
Conti.  But,  before  deciding  on  this,  she  did  a  very 
peculiar  thing,  so  as  not  to  embrace  me  with  my 
beard,  and  one  which  even  deserves  to  be  detailed. 

This  beard  displeased  her  as  beards  usually  displease 
ail  ladies.  She  did  not  dare  to  tell  me  to  get  rid  of  it, 
because  she  would  hâve  been  afraid  of  my  accusing  her 
of  being  more  solicitous  for  her  own  pleasure  than  for 
my  safety.  Such  being  the  case,  she  told  Las  Florides, 
whom  she  had  protected  with  the  Prince  de  Conti  at 
the  beginning  of  the  rule  of  the  Ormistes,  that  she 
thought  me  very  comical  for  a  hermit.  I  must  be 
made  drunk,  and  hâve  my  beard  eut  off  whilst  asleep. 
I  should  be  very  astonished  when  I  awoke,  and  there 
would  be  fun  in  seeing  the  face  I  should  pull,  when  I 
found  myself  caught  in  such  a  way.  Las  Florides, 
who  asked  nothing  better  than  to  humour  her,  and 
whose  line  besides  it  was  to  amuse  himself  at  other 
people's  expense,  at  once  promised  that  he  would 
satisfy  her  before  three  or  four  days  should  hâve 
elapsed.  Not  a  day  passed  by  that  a  boat  laden  with 
wine  of  Langon^  did  not  corne  by  the  position  which 
he  was  holding.  He  had  had  a  cask  given  to  him, 
being  of  opinion  that  it  was  excellent.  He  had  already 
made  me  taste  it,  to  see  if  I  found  it  just  as  good  as  he 
did,  I  should  hâve  had  to  hâve  been  extremely  fas- 
tidious  not  to  hâve  shared  his  taste,  so,  even  outbidding 
him,  instead  of  declaring  it  excellent,  as  he  had  done, 
I  told  him  it  was  excellentissime.  He  replied,  that  he 
was  dehghted  at  my  finding  it  so  good,  and  this  being 

I  Langon  is  a  town  which  produces,  or  did  produce,  wine  of 
a  very  alcoholic  and  strong  nature. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  185 

so,  declared  himself  anxious  that  we  should  hâve  a 
drinking-bout  together,  directly  the  wine  should  hâve 
settled  itself. 

Nevertheless,  the  King's  troops  did  not  give  him  too 
much  time  for  such  a  thing.  They  were  beginning  to 
press  the  town  very  hard,  especially  since  they  had 
found  means  of  winning  over  a  certain  foreign  colonel, 
who  was  in  one  of  the  principal  forts  v^hich  the  be- 
sieged  still  held  on  the  Garonne.  This  fort  even 
defended  the  mouth  of  that  river,  so  much  so  that  the 
loss  was  one  which  could  not  be  repaired.  M.  de 
Candale  had  himself  drawn  up  the  agreement,  and  had 
then  sent  it  on  to  me  to  give  it  the  finishing  touch. 
This  colonel  was  an  Irishman,  and  was  called  Islan, 
a  man  of  rank  of  that  country.  Ail  the  same,  his 
appetite  had  not  been  proportionate  to  his  nobility. 
He  had  treated  us  very  gently,  though,  had  he  known 
his  business,  he  might  hâve  extracted  a  sufficient  sum 
from  the  Court  to  hâve  procured  the  finest  estate  in 
the  whole  of  Ireland.  He  had  been  satisfied  with  two 
thousand  pistoles  as  the  price  of  his  treachery,  a  sum 
which  I  caused  to  be  advanced  to  him  by  a  banker  to 
whom  I  had  letters  of  crédit.  I  had  donned  another 
dress  to  go  and  visit  him,  and,  although  he  was  very 
surprised  to  see  me  with  such  a  great  beard,  he  had  no 
idea  I  was  "the  hermit  of  the  people  of  good  résolve." 
If  he  had  heard  speak  of  me,  he  had  never  seen  me. 
He  only  left  his  house  to  go  to  the  Bourse  ;  from  the 
Bourse  he  returned  to  his  counter,  and,  though  he  was 
more  than  sixty  years  of  âge,  he  had  never  done 
anything  else. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  outside  the  city,  while 
within  there  was  even  more  danger.  Most  of  the 
members  of  the  Parlement  and  the  chief  citizens,  who 


i86  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

had  always  hated  the  tyranny  of  the  Ormistes,  began 
to  be  more  than  ever  weary  of  it  :  so  they  each  had 
their  plot  to  return  to  that  allegiance  which  they  owed 
to  their  sovereign.  Ail  this  was  very  capable  of 
alarming  Orteste  and  ail  his  accomplices,  and  conse- 
quently,  of  preventing  Las  Florides  from  amusing 
himself  at  my  expense.  However,  at  last,  his  liking 
for  the  lady  and  the  bent  he  had  for  pleasure  having 
led  him  to  omit  making  any  reflections  on  the  state  of 
affairs,  he  invited  some  of  his  friends  as  well  as  myself 
to  the  opening  of  a  great  duck  pasty  which  he  had 
received  as  a  présent.  This  pasty  was  well  accom- 
panied.  He  had  provided  himself  with  everything 
excellent  the  season  could  provide  for  a  great  banquet, 
and,  as  he  had  told  thèse  guests  that  he  would  wash  ail 
this  down  with  the  best  wine  they  had  ever  drunk, 
everyone  came  thoroughly  determined  to  drink  deep 
and  heartily. 

It  was  now  so  long  since  I  had  lost  the  habit  of 
drinking  the  wine  of  Langon  (which  is  full  of  liqueur 
and  potent)  that,  in  conséquence,  it  went  to  my  head 
more  than  to  other  people's.  Wishing  for  this  reason 
not  to  overload  my  digestion  with  it,  I  frankly  told  the 
Company  that  the  poor  hermit  wanted  to  go  and  lie 
down.  If  Las  Florides  had  not  desired  to  play  me  the 
trick  he  wanted  to  do,  he  would  never  hâve  allowed 
me  to  be  found  wanting  in  public  in  this  way,  but, 
having  his  plan,  he  told  one  of  his  servants  to  take  me 
to  a  room  he  mentioned.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  later 
(perhaps  a  little  less  or  a  little  more)  he  sent  to  see 
what  I  was  doing.  I  had  lain  down  on  a  bed,  on 
which  I  had  no  sooner  thrown  myself  than  I  had 
fallen  asleep.     I  was  even  snoring  in  as  loud  a  manner 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  187 

as  if  I  had  been  asthmatic,  either  from  being  in  an 
uncomfortable  position,  or  from  the  wine  producing 
that  effect  upon  me,  and  I  might  hâve  been  heard  at 
the  end  of  the  street.  Las  Florides,  without  informing 
anyone  that  the  lady  in  question  had  begged  him  to 
hâve  my  beard  shaved  off,  told  the  people  that  I  ought 
to  be  played  the  trick  in  question.  Like  myself,  they 
had  drunk  a  good  deal,  so,  as  there  is  no  devilry  which 
people  do  not  think  of  when  in  that  condition,  they 
did  not  tarry  long  between  the  proposition  and  its 
exécution.  Las  Florides  had  ordered  the  best  barber 
in  the  tovvn  to  hold  himself  in  readiness  with  some 
good  razors  for  such  time  as  he  should  send  for  him. 
Such  an  order  had  slightly  embarrassed  this  poor  man. 
He  had  been  afraid  that  it  was  only  to  carry  out  some 
more  dangerous  and  more  criminal  opération  than  the 
one  he  was  wanted  for.  Las  Florides  possessed  a 
pretty  enough  wife,  and,  as  she  bore  the  réputation 
of  not  contenting  herself  with  her  husband,  this  barber 
thought  that,  having  discovered  some  gallant  with  her, 
he  wanted  to  put  him  into  such  a  state  as  never 
again  to  divert  himself  with  his  neighbour's  wife  ! 
Perceiving,  however,  on  his  arrivai  at  the  place  where 
I  was,  that  the  thing  wanted  of  him  was  not  of  the 
nature  he  anticipated,  he  became  quite  reassured,  from 
having  before  been  ail  of  a  tremble.  Accordingly, 
when  he  was  asked  if  he  could  shave  my  beard  com- 
pletely  off  without  my  awaking,  he  made  reply  that  he 
could  not  absolutely  swear  to  such  a  thing,  but,  at  ail 
events,  he  was  very  sure  that,  were  he  unable  to 
succeed,  anyone  else  would  do  no  better  than  himself. 
He  was  told  to  begin,  and,  having  first  eut  my  beard 
with  scissors,  he  then  proceeded  with  the  razor.     I  felt 


i88  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

neither  the  one  nor  the  other — in  such  a  deep  slumber 
vvas  I  plunged.  I  even  slept  half  the  night  through  at 
a  stretch,  but,  waking  eventually  towards  the  middle, 
and  having  by  chance  raised  my  hand  to  my  face,  I 
was  quite  astounded  to  perceive  myself  no  more  nor 
less  than  are  those  who  are  accused  of  bringing  bad 
luck.  I  at  once  suspected  that  this  was  a  joke  which 
had  been  played  me,  and,  not  being  able  to  attribute  it 
to  Las  Florides,  I  had  not  the  very  slightest  suspicion 
that  the  lady  had  had  any  hand  in  it.  My  condition 
upset  me,  as,  indeed,  it  must  hâve  upset  every  sensible 
man.  I  was  afraid  lest  it  should  serve  to  cause  me  to 
be  recognised,  and  that,  as  there  were  around  the 
Prince  de  Conti  a  number  of  people  who  had  been 
at  Court,  there  might  be  someone  to  tell  him  that 
I  had  been  but  a  hermit  in  dress  alone.  Besides,  it 
was  certain  that  the  rumour  of  this  joke  would  no 
sooner  hâve  spread  round  the  city,  than  I  should  be 
mobbed  like  a  bear-tamer  by  every  kind  of  small  child. 
This  was  in  no  way  pleasant  for  an  honourable  man. 
Besides,  the  people  who  might  be  too  wise  to  run  after 
me  like  the  rest  would  not  always  be  able  to  help 
staring  at  me,  and,  in  conséquence,  must  recognise  me, 
if  they  had  ever  by  chance  seen  me,  though  before 
they  would  not  hâve  dreamt  of  doing  so. 

Thèse  reflections,  which  appeared  to  me  sensible 
enough,  stopped  me  from  closing  my  eyes  ail  the  rest 
of  the  night.  Those  who  had  been  présent  at  the 
banquet  had  slept  at  the  house  of  Las  Florides  and 
got  up  early,  like  himself,  to  be  présent  at  my  rising. 
They  were  delighted  at  being  about  to  see  the  face 
I  should  pull  and  amuse  themselves  at  it  in  my  very 
présence.     However,  they  were  very  surprised  to  see 


MEMOlRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  189 

that  I  was  the  first  to  burst  out  laughing,  just  as  if 
I  had  been  in  no  wise  affected.  I  had  taken  my  line, 
after  having  thought  well  over  the  matter.  This  line 
was,  to  abandon  my  hermit's  dress,  so  as  to  avoid 
the  affronts  and  inconveniences  which  I  foresaw  might 
arise,  were  I  to  think  of  putting  it  on  again.  Las 
Florides  wanted  to  give  me  one  of  his  suits.  Both  of 
us  were  about  the  same  height,  so  that  it  would  hâve 
fitted  me  very  well,  but  I  did  not  think  it  opportune  to 
accept  it,  because  I  deemed  it  too  magnificent  for  the 
position  I  wished  to  maintain  in  this  part  of  the 
country.  I  was  not  eager  for  my  costume  to  draw 
attention  to  myself.  So,  far  from  wanting  to  wear 
gold,  I  would  willingly  hâve  put  a  sack  over  my 
head,  had  such  a  thing  been  permissible.  Las  Florides 
was  wont  to  wear  gold  stuffs,  since  he  had  changed 
his  knife  for  a  sword,  for  he  had  previously  been 
but  a  shoemaker  and  even  one  of  those  who  do  but 
little  business. 

As  I  had  retained  the  soldier's  dress  with  which  I 
had  arrived,  it  seemed  to  me  the  right  moment  to 
adopt  it  again.  This  spared  me  a  good  deal  of  em- 
barrassment.  For,  as  the  news  about  my  beard  had 
already  spread  in  the  neighbourhood,  everyone  was 
only   waiting    to    catch    sight    of   my   dress    to    call 

out  "il  a   c au    lit,"    as   is   done   at    Shrovetide. 

Indeed,  there  were  already  more  than  two  hundred 
persons  at  each  corner  of  the  street  in  which  Las 
Florides  lived.  They  were  even  now  quite  ready  to 
shout  out  their  jokes  after  me,  so,  being  afraid  lest 
they  should  hâve  been  warned  that  I  had  changed 
my  dress,  and  that  they  would  greet  me  in  the  same 
way  in  the  soldier's  garb  as   in   my  former  costume, 


igo  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

I  said  to  a  groom  of  this  Ormiste,  who  was  a  good 
sort  of  fool,  that  I  would  bet  him  a  pistole  that  he  did 
not  dare  to  put  on  my  hermit's  robe,  and  go  in  it  only 
through  three  streets  from  where  we  were.  He  had 
not,  like  myself,  seen  the  crowd  of  people,  and,  even 
had  he  done  so,  would  not  hâve  had  the  sensé  to 
divine  the  reason  of  their  assembling.  Accordingly, 
being  eager  to  win  my  pistole,  he  replied  that  he  would 
make  the  wager  whenever  I  liked.  I  answered  that  it 
should  be  that  very  moment,  if  he  was  ready,  and  at 
once  taking  me  at  my  word,  he  immediately  put  on  my 
monk's  robe.  The  populace,  which  is  clever  enough 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  would  not  at  first  attack 
him.  On  the  contrary,  it  withdrew  into  the  other 
Street,  to  make  him  pass  right  into  the  middle,  before 
he  should  hâve  discovered  what  was  on  foot.  The 
groom,  who  was  quite  ashamed,  had  not  only  lowered 
his  hood  for  concealment,  but  held  besides  his  hand 
in  front  of  his  face,  to  avoid  récognition.  His  appear- 
ance  alone  sufficed  to  make  thèse  people  believe  that 
it  was  I  ;  so,  no  sooner  had  he  passed,  than  they  took 
to  setting  up  a  terrible  clamour  after  him.  At  the 
same  time,  the  crowd  was  increasing  from  every 
minute,  and  as  I  had  suspected  what  was  going  to 
happen  and  already  perceived  that  those  at  the  corner 
which  he  had  not  as  yet  passed  were  running  after  the 
others,  I  passed  right  through  the  middle  of  the  people 
and  so  extricated  myself  from  the  crowd.  The  poor 
groom  was  very  embarrassed  as  to  how  to  get  out  of  the 
mess.  Nevertheless,  he  kept  calling  out  at  every  step 
that  a  pistole  was  a  good  thing  to  win,  and  that  this  was 
the  reason  of  his  having  donned  my  costume.  But  as, 
in  addition  to  the  noise  which  this  riff-raff  made,  he 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  igi 

had  bawled  himself  hoarse  before  being  able  to  make 
a  single  word  of  what  he  was  saying  audible,  he  was 
eventually  obliged  to  stop,  because  he  found  himself 
surrounded  on  ail  sides.  There  he  told  the  people 
that  it  was  a  question  of  his  winning  a  pistole  by 
going  as  far  as  a  certain  street.  He  had  made  the 
bet  with  me,  and  he  would  beg  them  not  to  stand 
in  the  way  of  his  success.  They  opened  their  eyes 
at  thèse  words,  and  there  were  men  présent  who  knew 
me  and  who  began  to  perceive  that  this  was  not  the 
man  they  wanted.  They  were  carried  away  with  rage, 
the  wisest  amongst  them  pointing  out  that  I  had 
cleverly  deceived  them.  They  would  hâve  immediately 
revenged  themselves,  had  they  dared,  and  would  hâve 
gone  to  besiege  the  house  of  Las  Florides,  in  which 
they  still  thought  I  was.  However,  the  respect  in 
which  they  were  obliged  to  hold  him,  or  rather,  fear 
of  his  ferocity  acting  as  a  curb,  which  pulled  them  up 
short,  they  had  to  champ  their  bit,  for  lack  of  doing 
what  they  wanted  to  do. 

When  Las  Florides  learned  what  I  had  done  to  avoid 
the  insults  prepared  for  me,  he  thought  I  had  behaved 
like  a  clever  man.  Meanwhile,  he  did  not  know  what 
had  become  of  me,  because,  instead  of  returning  to  his 
house,  I  remained  four  whole  days  without  giving  him 
any  news  of  myself.  He  tried  to  obtain  some  from 
every  quarter,  because  at  every  moment  things  occurred 
in  his  new-found  profession  which  made  him  want  my 
advice.  For  this  purpose  he  addressed  himself  to 
persons  who  could  easily  hâve  enlightened  him,  had 
they  cared  to  do  so.  He  applied  to  the  lady  who  had 
originated  the  joke  played  upon  me.  I  had  gone  to 
her  on  leaving  his  house,  but  she  told  him  that  she 


192  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

had  heard  no  more  about  me  than  himself.  She  had 
been  quite  astounded  to  see  me  in  my  présent  state. 
Although,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  she  was  not  expecting 
me  to  arrive  at  her  house  with  a  long  beard  for 
some  time,  she  was  not  at  ail  prepared  to  see  me 
appear  without  my  usual  dress.  She  asked  me  the 
reason  of  this  change,  and,  as  I  was  a  long  way  from 
imagining  that  she  herself  was  the  cause  of  my  having 
been  rendered  beardless,  I  was  innocent  enough  to 
describe  what  had  happened.  She  found  it  very 
amusing,  and,  thinking  me  even  more  to  her  taste 
than  before,  though  my  costume  was  not  too  becoming, 
she  indulged  in  some  pretty  little  ways  which  made 
me  understand  that,  what  she  had  not  been  willing  to 
accord  me  before,  she  would  grant  me  now.  I  did  not 
need  to  be  told  twice,  and,  becoming  at  once  good 
friends,  she  enquired,  to  keep  up  the  conversation,  who 
was  it,  did  I  think,  that  had  played  me  the  trick  I  had 
just  spoken  to  her  about  ?  As  I  was  beginning  to  be 
on  good  terms  with  her,  I  replied  that  there  she  was 
asking  me  a  merry  question.  My  intelligence  was  not 
so  limited  as  to  accuse  anyone  else  but  Las  Florides. 
It  was  he  who  had  tried  to  amuse  himself  at  my 
expense,  but  1  would  not  forgive  him  for  it,  either 
in  life  nor  death. 

She  burst  out  laughing  at  this  speech,  and  even  so 
heartily,  that  I  was  quite  shocked.  For  this  reason  I 
should  at  once  hâve  asked  her  in  a  very  rough  way 
where  the  joke  lay,  had  it  not  been  that  she  might 
hâve  thought  that  I  was  taking  such  a  liberty,  only  on 
account  of  the  other  one  she  had  just  let  me  take. 
Meanwhile,  the  more  annoyed  I  appeared,  the  more 
she  made  game  of  me.     She  called  me  dupe  more  than 


MEMOiRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  193 

a  thousand  times,  and,  not  understanding  what  she 
meant  by  this,  I  was  very  nearly  getting  seriously  angry 
with  her.  Nevertheless,  I  did  not  think  such  a  thing 
would  be  wise  for  many  reasons,  so,  begging  her  once 
again  to  let  me  know  why  she  was  thus  jeering  at  me, 
she  answered  in  a  pleasant  and  bantering  way,  that  I 
was  to  look  well  at  her  and  afterwards  say,  whether  a 
pretty  woman  such  as  herself  would  ever  consent  to 
share  her  couch  with  a  monk.  Thèse  words  were  not 
yet  sufficient  to  thoroughly  enlighten  me.  Indeed,  I 
think  that  I  should  hâve  there  and  then  obliged  her  to 
hâve  explained  herself  in  some  other  way,  had  she  not 
immediately  added  that,  further,  there  was  more 
pleasure  in  admitting  a  soldier  to  one's  bed  as  she  had 
done,  than  a  beard  an  ell  long. 

I  must  not  then  blâme  Las  Florides,  but  herself,  for 
my  adventure,  for  she  it  was  who  had  not  been  able  to 
endure  my  great  beard.  Nevertheless,  I  ought  not  to 
regret  its  loss,  for,  if  ail  those  who  wore  one  knew  that 
they  had  but  to  get  rid  of  it  to  enjoy  her  favours,  she 
presumed  enough  on  her  own  attractions  to  flatter 
herself  that  no  capuchins  would  be  left  in  their  convent  ! 

She  said  this  to  me  in  such  an  agreeable  way,  that  I 
at  once  proceeded  to  show  her  that,  if  I  did  not  sport 
a  monk's  garb,  I  yet  possessed  ail  his  best  qualities. 
She  was  extremely  pleased  with  me,  and,  as  I  could  go 
nowhere  where  I  should  be  more  comfortable,  and  was, 
besides,  afraid  of  descending  into  the  street,  for  fear 
of  the  mob  and  the  small  children,  who  would  not  hâve 
again  failed  to  try  and  make  me  their  plaything,  I 
begged  her  to  keep  me  in  her  house.  She  resolved  the 
quicker  to  do  this,  as  she  had  no  husband  who  con- 
troUed  her  actions,  and  besides,  she  flattered  herself 

VOL.  II  12 


i94  Me  MO  1RS  OF  b'ARTAÔNAM 

that  I  should  make  good  return  for  her  hospitality.  Not 
that  she  was  a  widow  ;  on  the  contrary,  she  had  been 
married  but  two  years  ago,  and,  in  addition,  had  a 
husband  who  had  not  as  yet  any  désire  to  die.  How- 
ever,  she  had  found  means  to  get  rid  of  him  some  days 
before,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Prince  de  Conti,  who 
had  bothered  her  a  good  deal  on  the  subject.  As  it  was 
his  opinion  that  to  possess  a  mistress  was  nothing  at 
ail  unless  one  could  pass  the  night  with  her,  he  had 
been  désirons  that  the  man  should  set  out  on  a  journey, 
so  as  to  give  him  time  to  do  everything  he  wished. 
He  had  sent  the  husband  into  Flanders  to  his  brother, 
to  carry  some  complaints  against  Marcin.  The  Prince 
de  Condé,  who  knew  ail  that  went  on  at  Bordeaux,  just 
as  well  as  if  he  had  been  there  himself,  listened  placidly 
to  the  man.  Meanwhile,  as  he  had  adopted  the  plan 
of  telling  everyone  home  truths,  even  including  women, 
for  whom  one  usually  has  some  sort  of  considération, 
he  at  once  replied  that  his  brother  had  not  desired  his 
words  to  be  believed,  since  he  had  chosen  him  to  corne 
and  speak  of  his  affairs.  He  should  hâve  despatched  a 
less  suspicions  person,  in  order  to  incline  his  mind  to 
listen,  for  he  was  too  interested  a  party  not  to  add 
something  of  his  own.  He  (the  Prince  de  Condé)  was 
sorry  to  hâve  to  speak  so  plainly  to  him,  but  it  was  his 
fault  rather  than  his  own,  since  he  should  not  hâve 
undertaken  such  a  disagreeable  service.  He  was  not 
the  cause  of  his  imprudence  ;  he  was  bringing  ail  this 
upon  his  own  head.  The  emissary  did  not  at  first 
understand  what  was  meant  by  this,  either  because  he 
was  not  quick-witted,  or  that  he  was  ignorant  of  the 
intercourse  of  the  Prince  de  Conti  with  his  wife. 
Accordingly,   he   entreated   the   Prince   de   Condé   to 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  195 

consent  to  tell  him  in  what  way  he  might  be  an  object 
of  suspicion,  since  he  had  never  had  anything  to  do 
with  Marcin  and  was,  consequently,  just  as  ready  to 
do  him  justice  as  anyone  else.  "  Will  you  swear  to 
it,"  retorted  the  prince,  who  wanted  to  divert  himself, 
"and  not  be  afraid  of  being  accused  of  falsehood?" 
"No,  no,  my  lord,"  replied  the  poor  cuckold,  "I  am 
ready  to  swear  any  oath  you  like,  begging  you  to 
believe  that  I  shall  only  speak  the  truth."  The  prince 
pretended  not  to  be  willing  to  accept  his  word,  so 
as  to  oblige  him  to  take  the  promised  oath  :  then, 
softening  of  a  sudden,  as  if  he  had  only  just  begun  to 
bedisabused  of  his  suspicions,  "  I  believe  you,"  continued 
he,  "  since  I  see  you  taking  an  oath  ;  but,  if  you  can 
clear  yourself  of  this,  I  am  very  certain  you  cannot 
clear  yourself  of  other  things.  Your  wife  is  too  good  a 
friand  of  my  brother's  for  you  to  warmly  espouse  his 
interests.  You  are,  in  conséquence,  unable  to  bear 
witness  against  his  enemies  :  you  know  this  better 
than  myself,  since  you  are  not  only  a  lawyer,  but, 
further,  cause  those  who  pass  as  masters  in  that  pro- 
fession to  come  and  plead  before  you."  The  poor 
husband  nearly  fell  to  the  ground  when  he  heard  thèse 
reproaches.  He  knew  nothing  about  his  wife's  goings 
on,  or,  at  least,  pretended  not  to,  but,  dissimulation 
being  of  no  further  use  after  this,  he  went  off  very 
sorrowfully  to  return  to  his  own  part  of  the  country. 

I  still  remained  with  his  wife  during  this  time,  and, 
as  every  minute  we  were  becoming  better  acquainted, 
I  thought  I  had  the  right  to  say  to  her,  but  merely  as 
my  own  idea,  that,  were  I  in  her  place,  I  should  try 
and  profit  by  the  présent  moment  ;  that  things  might 
not   always   be   so   propitious   for   her   as    they   were 

13- -2 


196  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

to-day.  She  vvas  in  the  ^ood  grâces  of  the  Prince  de 
Conti,  and  were  she  willing  to  employ  the  influence 
she  had  over  his  mind  to  lead  him  back  to  the  obédience 
he  owed  his  Majesty,  I  would  take  it  upon  myself  to 
obtain  a  recompense  for  her  proportionate  to  this 
service.  She  might  by  such  means  even  procure  some 
position  in  Paris.  The  Court  would  give  her  husband 
occupation,  especially  if  he  would  buy  the  office  of 
Maître  des  Requêtes.  A  mère  nothing  was  sometimes 
needed  to  make  one's  fortune.  A  good  example  of  this 
was  M.  le  Tellier,  who,  from  having  caused  a  report  to 
be  drawn  up,  favourable  to  one  of  the  children  of  the 
late  M.  de  Bullion,  whilst  he  was  Procureur  du  Roi  at 
the  Châtelet,  had  afterwards  been  so  well  received  that 
he  had  concluded  that  he  could  rely  upon  him  to 
make  his  fortune.  Selling  his  office,  he  had  bought 
one  similar  to  that  which  I  advised  her  husband  to 
purchase.  He  had  done  no  harm,  since  he  was  now 
not  only  Secretary  of  State  and  one  of  the  richest  men 
in  ail  Paris,  but,  further,  on  the  way  to  one  day 
become  chancellor. 

The  lady  listened  to  me  with  pleasure.  She  had 
heard  say  that  Paris  was  the  paradise  of  women  ;  the 
hope  with  which  I  inspired  her,  of  being  able  to  some 
day  take  up  her  abode  there  was  then  so  agreeable,  that 
she  at  once  told  me  that,  after  having  given  herself  to 
me  as  she  had  done,  she  abandoned  herself  entirely  to 
my  guidance.  Nevertheless,  she  wanted  me  to  be 
grateful  for  such  great  confidence.  Accordingly,  she 
immediately  added  that,  if  she  thus  easily  gave  up  her 
native  place  and  her  relations,  I  must  be  assured  that 
she  did  so  only  from  love  of  myself.  I  could  not 
always  live  at  Bordeaux.     The  bonds  which  bound  me 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  197 

to  tlie  Court  by  reason  of  my  office  would  soon  force 
me  to  return.  True  it  was  that  I  had  declared  that 
my  leave  was  for  four  months,  but  already  one  of  thèse 
had  flown,  and  the  others  would  pass  just  as  quickly, 
even  were  the  time  a  longer  one  than  it  was.  We 
must  therefore  think  of  placing  ourselves  in  a  position 
to  see  one  another  continually.  She  was  not  as  élever 
as  I,  and  even  a  long  way  from  it  ;  nevertheless,  she 
did  not  fail  to  perceive  that  the  expédient  I  had  pro- 
posed  would  so  greatly  faciHtate  our  plan  that,  if  she 
wanted  to  succeed,  she  must  look  for  no  other.  At  the 
same  time,  she  begged  me  to  consent  to  write  to  the 
Court,  adding  that,  by  reason  of  any  goodwill  and 
gratitude  I  might  feel  towards  her,  I  would  use  ail  my 
influence,  and  ail  that  of  my  friends,  to  conduct  this 
affair  to  a  satisfactory  termination. 

I  was  enchanted  at  the  warmth  with  which  she 
received  my  proposition.  Love,  nevertheless,  had  no 
share  in  my  satisfaction.  Debauchery  and  policy  had 
originated  our  intercourse  rather  than  any  attachment 
of  the  heart.  Not  that  she  was  not  pretty  enough  for 
that,  and  there  would  even  hâve  been  many  people  in 
my  place  who  would  hâve  considered  themselves  in 
luck's  way.  However,  either  because  one  is  not  made 
to  love  everybody,  or  because  I  did  not  love  a  mistress 
who  divided  her  favours  with  another,  I  approached 
her  no  more  than  was  sufficient  to  keep  up  the  réputa- 
tion of  being  a  dashing  gallant,  which  I  had  acquired 
with  her.  The  need  I  had  of  her  to  assist  me  with  the 
prince  also  caused  me  to  humour  her.  Sarrasin  had 
found  the  matter  difficult  on  account  of  the  prince 
being  afraid  of  his  brother.  Though  he  had  been 
enchanted  with  the  portrait  of  the  Cardinal's  nièce, 


igS  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

which  this  secretary  had  shown  him  as  if  by  chance 
(for  he  had  not  as  yet  spoken  of  my  scheme  of  a 
marriage  with  her,  and  wished  first  to  see  what  he 
would  say  about  her  portrait),  the  Prince  de  Conti  was  so 
afraid  of  the  lady's  rage,  were  he  to  give  her  up,  that 
he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  to  do  so.  In  spite  of 
this,  Sarrasin,  who  was  a  clever  man,  had  made  use  of 
every  reason  which  could  sway  him.  He  had  pointed 
eut  to  him  that  his  brother  had  a  thousand  times  more 
confidence  in  Marcin  than  in  himself,  so  that,  in 
reahty,  ail  authority  was  in  the  hands  of  the  former, 
whilst  he  held  it  but  in  appearance.  Were  he  to  speak 
the  truth,  he  knew  in  his  heart  of  hearts  that  the 
prince  dared  do  nothing  at  ail  without  having  first 
consulted  him  :  that  ail  those  really  devoted  to  him 
observed  this  only  with  indignation  and  prayed  to 
Heaven  every  day  that  they  might  see  him  escape  from 
this  slavery.  He  added  that  ail  his  brother's  property, 
which  was  very  considérable,  had  been  confiscated, 
and  there  was  no  likelihood  of  its  ever  being  returned 
to  him,  since  the  bonds  he  was  every  day  contracting 
with  the  Spaniards  were  of  such  magnitude  as  to 
appear  indissoluble. 

The  portrait  which  Sarrasin  had  shown  the  Prince 
de  Conti  was  a  rather  flattering  one,  as  ladies'  portraits 
nearly  always  are.  Nevertheless,  as  it  had  not  as  yet 
produced  ail  the  results  we  had  looked  for,  either 
because  one  had  failed  to  speak  cleverly  to  the  prince 
or  that  his  fears  still  continued  so  great  that  he  could 
not  surmount  them,  I  thought  myself  obliged  to  pro- 
duce another,  which  his  Eminence  had  sent  me.  This 
was  a  full-length  one  and  looked  very  well  indeed.  It 
was  much  more  flattering  than  that  which   Sarrasin 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  199 

had  shown,  so  that  one  might  call  anyone  very  unsus- 
ceptible  who  should  resist  the  original  from  vvhich  it 
was  painted,  always  supposing  it  to  be  a  good  likeness. 
I  gave  it  to  my  accomplice,  who  put  it  in  her  room, 
after  having  had  a  magnificent  frame  made  for  it. 
This  portrait  was  like  the  other,  which  was  not  very 
strange,  since  both  had  been  made  from  the  same 
person.  The  original  indeed  on  the  whole  resembled 
them,  though  in  détail  she  was  far  from  being  as 
good-looking  or  from  having  the  same  features. 

The  Prince  de  Conti,  having  gone  to  the  lady's 
house,  at  once  recognised  the  person  whom  it  repre- 
sented.  In  spite  of  this,  he  was  afraid  that  he  was 
deceived,  since  it  was  rather  odd  to  hang  up  a  picture 
of  this  kind  in  a  town  like  Bordeaux,  in  which  the 
Cardinal  was  hated  like  death  itself,  and  thus,  to 
ornament  one's  room  with  a  portrait  of  his  nièce  was 
a  pièce  of  boldness  which  seemed  out  of  reason.  He 
therefore  enquired  of  the  lady,  whose  portrait  it  was, 
as  if  he  did  not  know,  and  even  had  no  idea  whatever. 
The  lady  replied,  that  it  was  the  picture  of  the  most 
beautiful,  the  most  virtuous,  and  the  most  accom- 
plished  person  in  France.  This  was  praise  in  a  few 
words,  but  what  was  the  best  thing  about  it  was,  that 
it  was  true.  Of  the  seven  nièces  of  his  Eminence,  she 
was  not  only  the  most  perfect,  but  also  appeared  to 
hâve  epitomised  in  her  own  person  the  virtues  which 
ail  the  others  should  hâve  possessed.  The  lady, 
having  biassed  the  mind  of  the  prince  by  such  admir- 
able and  well-timed  praises,  almost  immediately  added 
that  the  original  of  the  picture  was  ready  to  be  married, 
and  would  just  suit  him.  At  the  same  time  she  told 
him  her  name,  whilst  declaring  that,  if  he  wished  to  be 


200  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

happy  and  also  to  succeed  to  the  property  and  offices 
of  his  brother,  he  should  seek  for  no  other  wife  than 
her.  His  fear  of  his  brother  faded  away  before  her 
praises  of  the  Cardinal's  nièce  and  his  inspection  of 
the  portrait.  He  fell  in  love  as  violently  as  is  possible 
under  such  circumstances.  He  had  never  seen  the 
lady,  who  had  nearly  always  lived  in  a  convent  out- 
side  France,  when  he  had  been  at  Court.  Accordingly, 
really  believing  that  she  was  as  beautiful  as  her  por- 
trait declared,  he  had  no  sooner  returned  home  than 
he  sent  for  Sarrasin  to  his  closet.  He  there  asked 
him  the  donor  of  the  picture  he  had  shown  him,  en- 
quiring  if  it  was  not  the  Cardinal,  and  bade  him  speak 
the  truth.  This  prince  was  too  clever  not  to  perceive 
that  ail  this  had  been  arranged,  and  that  the  girl  was 
being  thrown  at  his  head.  Sarrasin  owned  this  with- 
out  in  any  way  mentioning  me.  Such  a  thing  was  not 
as  necessary  as  to  let  his  master  know  what  the 
Cardinal's  plan  was. 

The  Prince  de  Conti,  to  whom  he  once  more  pointed 
out  afresh  the  advantages  he  would  gain  by  returning 
to  his  duty,  having  thought  the  matter  over,  at  once 
commanded  him  to  go  on  with  this  business  and  report 
the  progress  he  should  make.  Meanwhile,  wishing  to 
discover  from  him  his  mistress's  share  in  this  affair — 
she  who  had  a  portrait  of  the  lady,  and  had  spoken 
quite  frankly  of  her, — Sarrasin  told  him  that  it  had  been 
necessary  to  tell  her  about  it,  since  it  was  quite  évident 
that  he  would  not  agrée,  were  he  not  urged  on  by  some 
power  stronger  than  his  own.  It  had  been  believed 
that  she  would  hâve  more  power  over  him  than  anyone 
else,  and  that  otherwise,  she  should  hâve  known 
nothing  about  it.     The  prince  gave  orders,  as  this  was 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  aoi 

the  case,  that  she  should  be  told  nothing  more. 
Sarrasin  let  me  know  this,  and  I  was  not  too  displeased, 
because  I  felt  sure  that  a  secret  could  be  in  no  worse 
hands  than  those  of  a  woman.  Besides,  I  concluded 
that  the  prince  was  the  more  firmly  determined  in  his 
intention,  since  he  was  importing  mystery  into  this 
intrigue.  Indeed,  when  one  cares  about  anything,  it  is 
not  agreeable  for  it  to  be  known  everywhere,  whereas, 
when  one  is  indiffèrent,  such  a  thing  is  of  no  consé- 
quence whatever. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  this  prince,  having  gone  the  next 
day  to  see  the  lady,  very  nearly  surprised  us  together. 
Her  lady's  maid,  whom  she  trusted,  and  whom  she  had 
ordered  to  admit  no  one  without  first  informing  her, 
having  amused  herself  by  making  love,  instead  of 
attending  to  her  orders,  we  suddenly  heard  the  foot- 
steps  of  several  people  in  the  ante-chamber.  It  was 
the  prince  and  his  suite,  and,  expecting  such  to  be  the 
case,  I  quickly  jumped  into  a  closet  near  her  bed.  I 
had  not  the  time  to  shut  the  door  upon  myself,  and, 
not  being  able  to  go  back  to  it  after  his  entrance,  my 
uneasiness  as  well  as  the  lady's  became  great.  She 
indeed  was  completely  upset,  and  could  not  recover 
herself.  The  prince,  who  was  not  a  handsome  man, 
and  who  consequently  mistrusted  his  own  appearance, 
asked  her  what  it  was  which  was  so  extraordinary  as 
to  make  her  appear  in  the  state  in  which  he  now  saw 
her  ?  This  enquiry  completed  her  embarrassment,  so 
much  so  that,  his  suspicions  increasing  more  and 
more,  he  looked  to  right  and  left,  and  perceived  the 
door  of  the  closet  which  was  ajar.  This  made  him 
curions  to  come  and  inspect  it.  He  was  extremel}' 
surprised  to  see  me  there,  although  he  should  hâve 


202  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

expected  such  a  thing,  after  the  confusion  he  had 
noticed  the  lady  to  be  in.  In  a  tone  which  would 
hâve  caused  me  to  tremble,  had  I  been  wont  to  give 
way  to  terror,  he  demanded  of  me  what  I  was  doing  in 
such  a  place  ?  I  had  had  time  to  think  matters  over, 
in  case  he  should  approach  my  hiding-place,  so,  being 
quite  ready  with  an  answer  for  him,  I  declared  that  his 
secretary  would  go  bail  for  my  behaviour,  for  he  knew 
why  I  had  corne  into  the  town,  and  he  himself  should 
know  it  also,  at  least  from  what  had  been  repeated  to 
me.  This  should  be  enough  to  let  him  know  what  I 
was  now  doing  hère,  and  that  this  was  ail  my  business 
with  the  mistress  of  the  house. 

The  lady,  who  had  been  near  fainting,  when  she  had 
seen  the  prince  enter  the  closet,  recovered  herself  a 
little  at  my  words.  I  had  thus  given  her  an  opening 
to  excuse  herself,  which  she  had  before  not  thought  of. 
The  Prince  de  Conti  clearly  perceived  what  ail  this 
was  worth.  His  orders  to  Sarrasin  not  to  admit  the 
lady  any  more  into  his  secret  did  not  coincide  with  my 
excuses.  Nevertheless,  as  he  had  already  determined 
to  marry  the  person  proposed  to  him,  he  did  not  désire 
to  make  ail  the  fuss  which  at  another  time  he  might 
doubtless  hâve  done.  In  spite  of  this,  he  told  me 
very  drily  that  I  must  leave  the  town  within  twenty- 
four  hours,  otherwise,  once  that  period  of  time  should 
hâve  elapsed,  it  would  prove  no  safe  place  for  me. 
Having  thus  manifested  his  anger  in  a  few  words,  I  do 
not  accurately  know  what  he  said  to  the  lady.  He 
made  me  leave  the  house  at  once,  and  I  did  not  think 
it  prudent  to  return  and  see  what  had  happened  to 
her.  I  let  Sarrasin,  who  was  in  despair,  know  of  my 
disguise,  and  he  sent  me  a  passport  directly  he  had 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  203 

returned  home.  As  he  always  had  blank  ones  by  him, 
he  had  no  need  to  speak  to  his  master  of  the  matter  to 
obtain  one  for  me.  I  did  not  go  to  bid  good-bye  to 
Las  Florides  or  anyone.  My  valise  had  remained  at 
one  of  the  friends  of  the  secretary  of  the  Duc  de 
Candale  since  the  day  of  my  arrivai.  I  sent  to  fetch 
it,  and  having  at  once  set  out,  for  fear  of  some  fly 
passing  in  front  of  the  prince's  nose  and  making  him 
change  his  mind,  I  arrived  at  the  camp  of  M.  de 
Candale,  whom  I  found  already  informed  of  what  had 
happened  to  me. 

I  do  not  know  how  and  from  whom  he  had  been 
able  to  hear  of  it.  It  appeared  to  me  that  both  the 
Prince  de  Conti  and  the  lady  were,  one  as  much  as  the 
other,  concerned  in  not  boasting  of  what  had  occurred. 
We  three  alone  had  taken  part  in  this  scène,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  that,  if  there  was  one  of  us  who  might 
tell  the  story,  it  should  be  myself  rather  than  anyone 
else.  Knowing  very  well  that  it  was  not  myself,  it 
must,  consequently,  hâve  originated  from  one  of  the 
two.  I  admitted  the  truth  to  the  duc,  but  kept  back 
anything  which  might  suUy  the  honour  of  the  lady. 
The  Duc  de  Candale  laughed  a  little  at  me  for  playing 
such  a  discreet  part,  telling  me  that  I  had  cause  to 
reckon  this  as  a  pièce  of  good  luck,  because,  being 
accustomed,  as  a  Musketeer,  to  only  hâve  mistresses 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  seeing  twenty-four  men  a  day, 
I  was  apparently  to-day  contenting  myself  with  one 
who  had  seen  but  twenty  in  her  whole  life  !  He  would 
cite  them  ail  to  me,  if  I  liked,  by  their  names  and 
surnames,  and,  were  he  to  be  discovered  lying,  it 
would  be  at  most  about  one  or  two  of  them.  He 
knew  for  a  certain  fact  that  the  Prince  de  Conti  v/as 


204  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

the  seventeenth  of  her  favoured  lovers,  from  which 
circumstance  one  could  draw  one's  own  conclusions 
as  to  the  worth  and  appetite  of  the  lady. 

The  duc  Hked  joking  so  much  and  was  besides  so 
fond  of  scandai,  that  his  words  made  little  impression 
on  my  mind.  Nevertheless,  being  afraid  lest  the 
Cardinal  should  be  set  against  me,  and  that  I  might 
receive  only  ingratitude  instead  of  the  reward  which 
I  had  a  right  to  expect  for  my  services,  I  begged  him 
to  consent  to  write  to  him  on  my  behalf.  He  pro- 
fessed  himself  quite  vvilling  to  do  this,  but  instead  of 
writing  to  him  in  strong  terms,  the  letter  he  gave  me 
ruined  my  interests  more  than  it  assisted  them.  He 
sent  Word  to  his  Eminence,  wishing  to  amuse  him, 
that  the  Prince  de  Conti  was  right  to  want  to  marry, 
since  he  was  not  lucky  in  the  matter  of  mistresses. 
His  last  one  was  the  seventh  who  had  proved  false. 
Luckily,  a  wife  was  being  selected  for  him  whose  virtue 
was  proof  against  coquetry,  and  in  this  lay  his  safety, 
because,  parsonally,  he  was  so  very  unfortunate  that 
he  would  be  cuckolded  by  his  wife  as  he  had  been  by 
his  mistresses,  were  it  not  for  the  précautions  which 
were  being  taken. 


VI 


N  my  arrivai  in  Paris,  M.  le  Cardinal,  who 
was  eager  to  avoid  the  importunities  for 
a  captaincy  in  the  Guards,  which  he 
foresaw  I  should  pester  him  with,  told  me 
that  he  had  not  reckoned  on  sending  me 
Bordeaux  to  make  love,  but  rather  to  look 
after  the  affairs  of  his  Majesty.  I  clearly  per- 
ceived  the  reason  of  thèse  reproaches  :  so,  as  every- 
thing  I  had  done  had  been  but  with  a  view  to  serving 
him,  I  repHed,  without  being  surprised,  that  I  was 
ignorant  as  to  who  had  discredited  me  to  his 
Eminence,  but  that,  had  he  heard  the  truth,  he 
should  hâve  been  told  at  the  same  time  that  my 
love  affairs  had  been  described  to  him,  that  there 
was  just  as  much  crédit  in  playing  the  lover  in  the 
way  I  had  done,  as  in  the  most  difficult  matter  in 
the  world.  An  envoy,  it  appeared  to  me,  should 
transform  himself  into  ail  sorts  of  things  to  bring 
his  negotiations  to  a  successful  termination.  Indeed, 
I  had  done  nothing  without  first  consulting  with 
Sarrasin,  whom  his  Eminence  knew  to  be  a  clever 
man,  and,  as  he  had  been  of  opinion  that  I  ought  to 
act  as  I  had  done,  it  did  not  seem  to  me  that  I  ought 
to  be  blamed. 


2o6  ME  MO  1RS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

My  firmness  silenced  him.  One  had  to  contradict 
him  to  carry  one's  point.  He  reproached  me  for 
nothing  more,  but  I  was  no  better  off  for  ail  that. 
Having  tried  to  speak  to  him  of  the  reward  for  which 
he  had  so  long  made  me  hope,  he  replied  that,  now  he 
had  returned  to  France,  he  did  not  want  to  get  himself 
expelled  ail  over  again.  He  was  well  aware  that  he 
had  promised  me  a  company  in  the  Guards,  but,  as  it 
could  not  be  bestowed  without  causing  me  to  pass  over 
the  bodies  of  twenty  lieutenants  senior  to  myself,  far 
from  asking  him  for  it,  as  I  was  doing,  I  ought  not 
even  to  dream  of  it,  if  I  had  the  slightest  friendship  for 
him.  To  speak  like  this  was  to  déclare  himself  terribly 
opposed  to  me,  so,  concluding  that  I  had  nothing  more 
to  hope  for  at  Court,  I  resolved  to  sell  my  commission 
and  retire  to  my  own  home.  I  told  M.  de  Navailles 
this,  that  he  might  speak  to  the  Cardinal  about  it,  and 
that  the  latter  might  allow  me  to  look  for  a  purchaser. 
M.  de  Navailles  tried  to  alter  my  résolve,  telling  me 
that  it  was,  at  ail  events,  better  for  me  to  be  what 
I  was  than  to  be  reduced  to  go  and  plant  cabbages  ! 
It  appeared  as  if  I  did  not  know  how  bored  a  man 
who  had  retired  became,  since  that  state  of  life  did  not 
frighten  me  !  Once  one  had  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  Court,  one  could  do  nothing  else.  Not  a  day 
passed  that  one  did  not  long  for  death,  and  he  did 
not  advise  me  to  personally  try  such  an  experiment. 

Ail  thèse  reasons,  however  good  they  might  seem  to 
him  and,  indeed,  might  really  be,  did  not  affect  me.  I 
persisted  in  my  résolve  the  more  firmly,  because  the 
assistance  I  had  for  some  years  received  from  gambling 
now  failed  me  entirely.  From  the  first  day  I  had 
begun  to  lose  I  had  always  continucd  to  sustain  fresh 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  207 

losses.  For  this  reason  I  occasionally  found  mysclf  so 
bereft  of  everything,  that  I  thought  there  was  no  one  in 
the  world  more  unfortunate  than  myself.  So  much  so 
was  this  the  case  that,  if  I  hâve  mentioned  that  I  had 
at  Bordeaux  a  purse  of  two  hundred  pistoles,  it  must 
be  understood  that  I  had  procured  it  from  one  of  my 
friends.  Seeing  me  ordered  to  leave,  apparently  on 
account  of  something  serions,  he  had  brought  them  to 
me  without  my  having  asked  for  them.  I  had  made 
no  bones  about  taking  them,  because  I  had  imagined 
that  the  worst  thing  which  could  happen  to  me  would 
be  that  I  should  be  reimbursed  for  what  I  had  spent. 
But  the  Cardinal,  after  having  tried  to  pick  a  quarrel 
with  me  as  I  hâve  just  described,  thinking  he  had  a 
right  to  give  me  nothing  at  ail,  had  ordered  Servient  to 
let  me  hâve  a  bill  for  but  two  hundred  crowns,  and  even 
to  tell  me  on  his  behalf,  when  I  should  corne  for  it, 
that  I  did  not  deserve  that,  and  so,  if  he  was  giving  it 
me,  it  was  only  because  I  was  not  rich  and  stood  in 
need  of  someone's  assistance.  I  do  not  know  why  he 
did  not  further  add  in  definite  terms  that  he  only  acted 
as  he  was  doing  by  way  of  charity,  since  that  was  the 
sole  thing  lacking  to  complète  his  kindness  :  indeed,  I 
am  ignorant  whether  he  did  not  say  so,  since  such 
words  were  quite  of  the  same  kind  as  those  which  he 
caused  to  be  conveyed  to  me. 

This  it  was  which  made  me  so  out  of  temper  and 
caused  me  to  want  to  retire  from  everything.  Per- 
ceiving  that  ail  he  could  say  to  make  me  stay  was  of 
no  use,  Navailles  eventually  promised  to  speak  to  his 
Eminence.  He  did  so  in  very  kindly  terms  as  regards 
myself,  and  even  in  a  way  which  was  well  calculated  to 
make  him  change  his  mind.     For,  after  having  told 


2o8  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

him  that  I  was  a  man  without  reproach,  who  had 
always  served  him  faithfully  and  with  zeal,  he  added 
that  my  retirement  would  make  a  good  many  people 
think  over  things,  and  it  might  be  thought  that  there 
was  no  longer  any  profit  or  honour  to  be  got  by  serving 
him.  For  this  reason,  if  only  for  his  own  sake,  he 
ought  not  to  let  me  départ  without  some  recompense. 
He  further  told  him  many  weighty  reasons  for  this,  so 
much  so  that,  having  quite  upset  him,  his  Eminence 
repHed  that  my  demands  must  then  be  satisfied,  since 
there  was  no  other  way  of  keeping  me.  I  must,  how- 
ever,  assist  myself,  if  I  wanted  that  post  (a  captaincy 
in  the  Guards),  since  it  was  well  worth  my  doing  so. 
Navailles  perfectly  understood  what  he  meant  by  this. 

The  help  his  Eminence  asked  for  was  that  I  should 
give  him  some  money. 

Upon  this,  so  as  to  make  him  reaHse  in  good  time 
that  he  must  not  expect  any,  Navailles,  who  still 
wished  to  be  my  friend,  rejoined  that  I  did  not  possess 
one  sou,  and  that,  had  I  to  return  to  Bearn,  he  knew 
from  a  good  source  that  I  should  hâve  to  borrow  the 
wherewithal  to  get  back  with.  Eventually,  after  a 
good  deal  more  talking,  one  side  always  making  a 
thrust  at  me  and  the  other  parrying  it,  the  Cardinal 
and  Navailles  separated  without  it  being  certain  whether 
I  should  be  given  what  I  asked  for  or  allowed  to 
départ.  For,  although  the  Minister  had  declared  that 
I  was  to  be  satisfied,  since  otherwise  I  could  no  longer 
be  relied  upon,  as  he  had  immediately  added  that  I 
must  help  myself,  it  was  a  question  of  knowing  whether 
he  would  abandon  this  last  stipulation.  He  was  as 
grasping  as  a  Jew  whenever  his  interests  were  con- 
cerned,  so  much  so  that  those  who  knew  this  were 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  209 

accustomed  to  déclare  that  he  would  hâve  been  much 
more  fit  to  keep  a  shop  than  to  be  a  minister  of  State. 

I  was  awaiting  the  answer  of  Navailles  with  ail  the 
impatience  imaginable,  when  I  was  very  surprised  to 
hear  that  he  did  not  know  what  to  say  to  me.  At  the 
same  time  he  described  what  had  occurred,  and,  still 
continuing  to  show  himself  my  friend,  advised  me,  were 
the  Cardinal  to  try  and  sound  me  on  the  subject,  to 
make  myself  out  even  poorer  than  he  himself  had  done. 
Indeed,  it  was  a  shameful  thing  that  he  should  try  and 
extract  money  for  a  thing  which  cost  him  nothing,  but 
it  was  ail  very  well  to  say  so,  he  went  on  in  just  the 
same  way.  His  Eminence  had,  on  his  entry  into  the 
ministry,  introduced  this  custom  of  giving  nothing 
without  money,  and  firmly  intended  to  keep  it  up  to 
the  end.  I  thanked  Navailles  for  his  good  advice  and 
replied  that,  even  had  he  not  given  it  me,  I  should 
not  hâve  failed  to  put  it  into  practice  myself.  I  was 
forced  to  do  so  by  necessity,  and,  as  necessity  knew  no 
law,  the  Cardinal  would  hâve  great  trouble  before 
making  me  produce  any  money.  He  was  ail  powerful 
in  a  good  many  things,  but  in  this  I  defied  him  to 
make  himself  obeyed.  Navailles  made  reply  that  he 
was  well  pleased  to  see  me  in  this  state  of  mind,  and 
that  I  should  take  care  to  keep  myself  in  it. 

For  some  days  M.  le  Cardinal  said  nothing  to  me, 
although  I  took  care  to  présent  myself  before  him 
evening  and  morning.  I  did  not  know  what  this 
meant,  deeming  that  it  was  he  who  should  speak  first  : 
however,  seeing  him  do  nothing  of  the  sort,  and  thinking 
that  I  should  very  probably  hâve  to  wait  some  time 
before  he  did  so,  I  would  not  delay  any  longer  without 
having  a  personal  explanation  with  him.  I  again 
VOL.  II  14 


210  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

snatched  my  opportunity,  as  I  had  done  on  many 
occasions,  to  address  him  just  as  he  was  coming  from 
the  gaming-table  and  had  been  winning.  I  knew  from 
expérience  that  he  was  never  in  such  good  humour  as 
at  such  a  moment — indeed,  one  might  hâve  said  that 
he  had  seen  the  heavens  open,  so  serene  was  his 
countenance  and  so  delighted  his  look.  He  clearly 
perceived  that  I  wanted  to  speak  to  him,  and,  as  he 
was  aware  that  it  was  to  ask  him  for  something,  and 
not  to  give  him  anything,  he  tried  to  avoid  me.  He 
was  successful,  and,  having  thus  escaped  once,  believed 
that  he  had  got  rid  of  me  for  good  and  ail,  when,  one 
day  that  he  least  expected  to  do  so,  he  found  me  at  the 
house  of  Madame  de  Venelle. 

This  lady  was  the  companion  of  his  nièces,  and  I 
was  paying  her  a  visit  on  the  pretext  of  bringing  some 
truffles  which  had  been  sent  me  from  Dauphiné.  She 
was  extremely  fond  of  them,  and  I  had  observed  that 
no  présent  was  more  welcome  to  her.  The  nièces 
of  his  Eminence  were  much  of  her  way  of  thinking, 
too.  They  always  had  their  pockets  quite  fuU  of 
them,  and,  though  this  lady  was  aware  that  they  were 
already  suffîciently  inclined  towards  gallantry  not  to 
need  this  spur^  to  urge  them  on  to  it,  she  did  not  dare 
to  take  the  truffles  away,  because  they  would  hâve 
been  in  a  mood  to  retort  that  it  was  bad  taste  on  her 
part  to  blâme  in  others  that  which  she  herself  ap- 
proved  of. 

The  minister  was  surprised  to  find  me  there,  without 
my  having  been  sent  for,  and  on  his  enquiring  what  I 

I  Truffles  had,  and  hâve  still,  in  France  the  réputation  of 
exciting  tlie  passions.  It  is  improbable,  however,  that  they 
are  really  an  incentive  to  gallantry. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  au 

was  doing  in  a  rude  way  (and  behaving  as  if  he  was 
inclined  to  believe  that  I  had  only  corne  there  for  the 
purpose  of  leading  his  nièces  astray),  I  answered  that, 
having  intended  to  make  a  small  présent  to  Madame 
de  Venelle,  I  had  corne  with  it  myself,  from  fear  lest 
any  bearer  I  might  send  should  by  chance  be  tempted 
to  pilfer.  At  this  word  "  présent  "  he  softened,  so 
accustomed  was  he  to  be  pleased  when  one  was  made 
him  !  Accordingly,  at  once  adopting  another  tone  to 
that  in  which  he  had  spoken  to  me,  he  rejoined  that 
he  had  for  a  long  time  known  me  as  a  cautions  man, 
and  one  not  easily  caught.  I  was  none  too  wrong  to 
be  suspicions  of  my  neighbour,  for  the  world  was  at 
présent  so  corrupt  (and  especially  in  France)  that  there 
were  a  hundred  rogues  to  one  honest  man.  I  did  not 
dare  tell  him  what  I  thought  about  the  reproach  he  was 
making  against  our  nation,  to  wit,  that,  if  to-day  it  was 
so  corrupt,  it  was  only  since  the  bad  example  he  had 
set  from  the  first  day  he  had  entered  the  ministry.  At 
least,  this  is  what  most  honest  folks  declared. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  not  daring,  as  I  hâve  just  said,  to 
show  my  resentment  and  having,  on  the  contrary,  kept 
a  respectful  silence,  as  if  agreeing  with  what  he  said, 
the  Cardinal  enquired  of  me  what  the  présent  I  had 
mentioned  might  be  ?  Apparently,  he  wanted  his 
share,  if  he  could  hâve  a  finger  in  it.  If  I  was  a 
cautions  man,  as  he  had  declared,  he  for  his  part  was 
a  good  manager.  He  let  nothing  escape  through  any 
fault  of  his  own,  and  had  this  in  common  with  some 
other  people,  that  he  never  missed  turning  everything 
to  account.  Nevertheless,  when  he  learned  that  the 
présent  was  only  truffles,  he  became  as  grave  as  if  he 
was  eighty  years  old.     He  then  at  once  asked  me  if 

14 — 2 


2Î2  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

this  was  not  making  fun  of  people,  bringing  such  things 
into  a  place  where  there  were  young  girls.  The  fire 
was  already  nearly  alight,  without  trying  to  set  it 
ablaze.  I  ought  to  be  more  discreet,  and  he  would 
hâve  never  hâve  beheved  this  of  me.  He  immediately 
asked  to  see  thèse  truffles,  and,  either  from  fear  of 
what  he  had  spoken  of,  or  because  he  was  eager  to  get 
hold  of  them,  ordered  a  gentleman  of  his  who  was  in 
attendance  to  call  one  of  his  men  to  take  them  back  to 
his  house.  Madame  de  Venelle,  who  did  not  like 
seeing  them  disappear  under  her  nose,  after  having 
been  their  possessor,  then  told  him  that,  if  it  was 
dangerous  for  young  girls  to  eat  truffles,  there  was  no 
danger  in  a  woman  of  her  âge  partaking  of  them.  His 
Eminence  retorted  that,  if  there  was  no  danger,  as  she 
declared,  there  was  also  no  necessity  ;  besides,  she  was 
too  good-natured  to  refuse  them  to  his  nièces,  were 
they  to  chance  to  ask  for  some.  The  minister  having 
thus  taken  sole  possession  of  them,  without  letting  her 
hâve  the  least  share,  I  was  afraid  of  having  selected  a 
bad  time  to  speak  to  him,  though  I  had  carefully 
chosen   my  words  as   I   hâve  just  said. 

Nevertheless,  this  did  not  stop  me  from  persisting  in 
my  résolve,  which  was  to  discover,  once  for  ail,  whether 
I  was  to  return  home  or  stay  with  the  Cardinal.  Ac- 
cordingly,  my  mouth  was  open  to  hâve  an  explanation, 
but,  being  beforehand  with  me,  he  said,  in  a  consider- 
ably  softer  voice,  that  I  was  then  about  to  leave  him, 
without  remembering  that  he  had  always  reckoned  me 
amongst  his  most  faithful  servants  !  Navailles,  who  had 
spoken  to  him  on  my  behalf,  knew  very  well  what  he 
had  always  said  about  this.  There  was  a  kind  of  in- 
gratitude  in  this  conduct,  especially  in    my  pressing 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  213 

him,  as  I  was  doing,  with  my  sword  at  his  throat, 
to  give  me  a  company  in  the  Guards.  I  should  at 
least  hâve  some  patience,  and  choose  a  time  which 
would  not  make  my  comrades  raise  a  regular  outcry 
against  him.  I,  better  than  anyone  else,  knew  how 
impatiently  they  bore  cadets  being  made  to  pass  over 
their  heads.  For  this  reason,  some  pretext  was 
requisite  for  such  a  thing,  and  it  was  this  for  which 
he  was  searching  so  as  to  content  me.  With  such  an 
end  in  view,  he  had  caused  enquiry  to  be  made  as  to 
my  assisting  myself,  for,  could  I  do  so,  he  might 
point  out  to  my  comrades,  when  they  should  corne  to 
complain  of  the  favour  bestowed  on  me  to  their  own 
préjudice,  that  it  was  not  so  much  a  favour  as  a  civiHty 
which  he  was  doing  me.  They  would  hâve  no  answer 
to  this,  since,  indeed,  it  would  hâve  cost  me  something 
to  obtain  it.  On  this  account,  he  would  once  again 
advise  me  to  see  if  I  could  not  do  something,  either 
through  my  endeavours  or  through  friends.  His  only 
wish  was  to  do  me  good,  but,  to  be  brief,  it  was  not 
right  that  he  should  ruin  himself  to  oblige  me.  I 
should  place  myself  in  his  position,  and  in  that  of 
other  people,  and  I  would  soon  admit,  if  I  wanted  to 
be  at  ail  truthful,  that  matters  could  not  be  arranged 
in  the  way  I  desired  without  thoroughly  compromis- 
ing  him. 

Thus,  so  as  to  deal  me  another  blow,  did  he  prétend 
to  only  désire  my  prosperity  !  Another  person,  who 
might  hâve  known  him  less  well  than  I,  would  doubt- 
less  hâve  fallen  into  the  snare  and  moved  heaven  and 
earth,  rather  than  not  agrée  with  his  idea.  But,  as 
1  was  up  to  his  tricks,  I  continued  to  fall  back  upon 
my  poverty,  which  did  not  allow  me  to  do  everything 


214  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

which  I  wanted.  The  Cardinal  was  annoyed  at  not 
being  able  to  get  me  to  agrée  with  him,  and  either 
because  he  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  me  without 
obtaining  the  réputation  with  which  Navailles  had 
threatened  him,  or  that  he  really  was  afraid  of  making 
enemies  by  favouring  me  more  than  my  comrades,  he 
told  me  that,  as  I  could  not  raise  a  sou,  I  must  do 
something  which  would  make  my  comrades  hold  their 
longues,  when  they  should  see  me  pass  in  front  of 
them.  The  King  intended  very  shortly  to  take  back 
the  fortresses  which  M.  le  Prince  had  captured  when 
passing  over  to  the  enemy.  I  must  distinguish  my- 
self  beyond  others,  and  I  would  soon  obtain  the 
fulfilment  of  my  desires. 

This  speech  did  not  please  me, — not  that  I  valued  my 
skin,  as  one  might  perhaps  think.  I  had  always  done 
my  duty  everywhere,  at  least  I  flattered  myself  that  no 
one  had  any  other  opinion  about  me.  But,  deeming 
ail  this  but  a  rebuff,  I  found  myself  very  embarrassed 
as  to  whether  I  ought  to  speak  or  remain  silent.  For 
if,  on  the  one  hand,  I  did  not  like  to  be  played  with 
further,  on  the  other,  I  was  afraid  that,  were  I  to 
persist  in  asking  for  leave  to  départ,  I  should  be 
accused  of  having  degenerated  from  that  which  up 
to  that  time  I  had  always  appeared  to  be.  So,  after 
having  well  thought  over  the  matter,  I  resolved  not 
only  to  remain,  but  besides,  to  do  everything  in  the 
campaign  which  might  put  his  Eminence  in  the  wrong. 
In  spite  of  this  I  was  afraid  that,  though  I  might  do 
my  best,  I  should  never  succeed.  There  did  not  seem 
to  me  much  probability  of  our  doing  anything  con- 
sidérable in  that  year. 

The  rébellion  was  still  going  on  in  Bordeaux,  and, 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  315 

since  I  had  left,  the  Comte  de  Marcin,  who  had  per- 
ceived  that  the  Prince  de  Conti  was  quite  ready  to 
play  his  brother  false,  had  been  watching  him  so 
closely,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  accomplish 
ail  he  was  anxious  to  do.  Meanwhile  the  people  of 
Bordeaux  had  been  for  some  time  suffering  from  the 
miseries  which  civil  war  usually  brings  in  its  train. 
Commerce  was  at  a  standstill,  and  the  town  was  so 
closely  invested  that  nothing  could  enter  the  walls. 
The  sufferings  of  the  populace  caused  them  to  cry  out 
for  either  peace  or  bread.  The  Ormistes,  however, 
who  were  afraid  of  receiving  the  punishment  they 
deserved,  adopted  a  différent  tone.  Marcin,  who  had 
judgment  and  expérience,  sent  word  to.  the  Prince 
de  Condé  that,  unless  he  should  find  means  of  quickly 
succouring  the  town,  everything  would  be  lost  for  him 
in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  Ormistes,  indeed, 
still  continued  in  a  state  of  rébellion,  but,  as  they  were 
hated  by  everyone,  he  did  not  dare  to  appear  on  very 
good  terms  with  them  from  fear  of  incurring  the  hatred 
of  the  public.  Everything  depended  upon  the  help  he 
was  asking  for  and  its  speedy  arrivai. 

M.  le  Prince,  who  could  no  longer  amuse  himself 
with  the  ladies  of  Paris,  who  had  made  him  let  a  good 
many  favourable  opportunities  slip,  did  not  go  to  sleep 
on  this  occasion.  He  sent  a  confidential  man  to 
England  to  make  représentations  to  Cromwell  (who 
was  still  reigning  there  since  the  sad  death  of  the  late 
King),  to  point  out  that  his  interests  lay  in  taking  the 
city  of  Bordeaux  under  his  protection.  Cromwell, 
who  had  other  matters  to  attend  to,  would  not  en- 
cumber  himself  with  this  as  he  had  formerly  done.  He 
had  just  declared  war  with  the  Dutch,  because  he  had 


2i6  MEMOIRS    OF    D  ARTAGNAN 

observed  that  such  a  course  was  agreeable  to  his 
nation,  which  was  secretly  jealous  of  that  Republic, 
and  did  not  like  to  see  it  in  the  flourishing  condition 
which  it  was  then  in.  England  would  willingly  hâve 
given  up  everything  to  abate  its  power  and  force  it  to 
bend  to  its  sway.  For  it  is  a  characteristic  of  the  English 
to  think  no  one  their  equal  :  so  much  so  is  this  the 
case  that,  had  they  as  much  ambition  as  they  hâve 
vanity,  they  would  either  soon  render  ail  nations  sub- 
servient  to  their  own,  or  meet  with  the  fate  of  Phaëton, 
who  met  with  destruction,  as  the  fable  tells  us,  for 
having  presumed  too  much  on  his  own  powers.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  M.  le  Prince,  having  but  wasted  his 
time  in  this  quarter,  had  recourse  to  the  Spaniards  to 
make  up  for  Cromwell's  unwillingness  to  help  him. 
Marcin  had  already  sent  as  far  as  Madrid  to  obtain 
the  same  assistance  as  the  prince  was  now  asking  of 
the  archduke.  However,  ail  thèse  efforts  came  to 
nothing  ;  for,  although  a  fleet  was  sent  to  succour 
Bordeaux,  it  was  eventually  compelled  to  retire,  after 
having  several  times  tried  in  vain  to  assist  the  besieged. 
M.  le  Prince  fared  no  better  in  what  he  did  in 
France.  Nevertheless,  he  had  hoped  to  accomplish 
marvels,  on  account  of  people  still  continuing  to  be 
discontented  with  the  Cardinal.  However,  M.  de 
Turenne,  whom  the  Court  had  sent  against  him, 
having  limited  ail  thèse  great  plans  at  the  taking  of 
Roye,  which  he  even  had  to  at  once  abandon,  we 
foUowed  him  to  the  Somme,  where  it  was  feared  he 
had  an  understanding  with  some  governors  of  that 
district.  Most  of  them  indeed  did  not  hâve  many 
scruples  about  betraying  their  master,  so  much  so 
that,  had   the   Prince   de   Condé   had   any  money  to 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  «17 

bestow,  many  of  them  would  hâve  made  no  great 
difficulties  about  siding  with  him.  But  he  was  so 
poverty-stricken  that,  very  far  from  being  able  to 
give  others  anything,  he  had  not  even  enough  for 
himself.  The  archduke  gave  him  as  Httle  money  as 
possible  for  some  reason  of  his  own. 

M.  le  Prince  did  what  he  could  to  entice  tha 
Vicomte  de  Turenne  to  engage  in  battle.  He  calcu- 
lated  that,  were  he  to  be  successful,  he  could  re-enter 
France.  The  Cardinal  had  brought  the  King  into  our 
army  and  was  wont  to  show  him  to  the  soldiers,  to 
animate  them  against  a  rebel  who  was  the  more  guilty 
because  he  was  in  duty  bound  to  do  just  the  opposite 
of  what  he  was  doing.  M.  de  Turenne,  who  was 
very  clever,  did  not  think  the  time  an  opportune  one 
to  risk  a  battle  ;  he  told  his  Eminence  so,  and  added 
that  it  was  useless  to  promenade  the  King  along  the 
ranks  as  was  being  done.  This  was  a  good  thing 
only  when  one  wanted  to  animate  people  to  accom- 
plish,  so  to  speak,  the  impossible.  It  would  accord- 
ingly  be  much  better  for  his  Mijesty  to  return  to 
Paris  than  to  stay  any  longer  where  he  was,  for  his 
présence  would  be  much  more  likely  to  produce  a  bad 
effect  than  a  good  one. 

The  Vicomte  de  Turenne  was  none  too  wrong  to 
speak  like  this.  The  ardour  which  his  Eminence  had 
inspired  the  troops  with  by  his  tactics  was  so  great, 
that  they  had  already  engaged  in  two  or  three 
skirmishes,  which  had  seemed  Hkely  to  be  followed 
by  a  gênerai  engagement.  The  Cardinal  had  been 
much  alarmed  at  this,  and,  if  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne 
had  been  less  clever  and  careful  than  he  was,  I  do 
not  know  what  would  hâve  happened.     I  seized  this 


2i8  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

opportunity  to  distinguish  myself,  as  his  Eminence 
had  recommended  me  to  do,  but,  either  because  he 
was  only  trying  to  pick  a  quarrel  vvith  me,  or  that  his 
fright  of  things  resulting  in  a  battle  was  still  power- 
fully  affecting  him,  instead  of  being  pleased  with  me,  I 
found  myself  terribly  abused.  He  reproached  me  with 
not  being  at  ail  the  man  he  had  thought  me,  and 
declared  that,  had  there  been  but  two  dozen  men  like 
myself,  we  should  hâve  been  followed  by  the  whole 
of  the  army.  In  reply  I  urged  that,  provided  every- 
one  had  done  their  duty  like  myself,  there  would  hâve 
been  no  great  danger  in  such  a  thing  taking  place  :  far 
from  it,  we  should  soon  hâve  driven  the  enemy  over 
the  Somme,  for  they  were  still  this  side  of  it,  the 
Prince  de  Condé  making  as  if  to  attack  now  one 
fortress  and  now  another. 

His  Eminence  took  care  not  to  agrée  with  me,  and, 
having  continued  to  abuse  me  more  and  more,  I  was 
80  pained  that  I  resolved  this  time  to  go  away  without 
even  looking  behind  me.  I  told  this  to  my  most 
intimate  friends,  and,  not  thinking  he  would  be  so 
unjust  as  to  refuse  to  let  me  sell  my  post,  I  sought 
for  a  purchaser  without  speaking  to  him  further  on  the 
subject.  Everyone  agreed  with  me,  so  reasonable  did 
my  resentment  appear.  His  Eminence,  meanwhile, 
left  the  army,  and  hardly  had  he  gone  from  our  camp 
than  we  were  informed  that  the  Bordeaux  arrangement 
had  been  completed.  The  Prince  de  Conti  did  ail  he 
could  to  conceal  from  his  brother's  friends  that  he  had 
any  hand  in  it.  Finally,  however,  he  raised  the  mask, 
for  further  dissimulation  would  hâve  availed  him 
nothing.  His  marriage  was  one  of  the  clauses  of  the 
treaty,  and  even  the  one  which  pleased  him  most,  and 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  aig 

which  was,  as  it  were,  its  seal.  He  thought  he  could 
never  hâve  a  wife  soon  enough,  and,  though  he  had 
already  had  too  much  to  do  with  ladies — at  least, 
whispered  rumours  said  so,  he  had,  ail  the  same,  a 
strange  désire  to  try  this  one.  To  speak  the  truth, 
she  was  well  worth  it,  and,  though  not  quite  as 
beautiful  as  her  portrait,  she  was  yet  sufficiently  so 
to  thoroughly  rouse  his  desires.  He  retired  to  Cadillac, 
where  we  were  told  he  was  undergoing  treatment,  to 
prépare  for  the  amorous  encounter  which  he  was  soon 
to  wage  with  her.  This  made  me  tremble.  I  knew 
that  there  was  one  woman  who  had  been  common 
to  both  of  us,  and  that,  whether  it  was  she  who  had 
made  him  the  présent,  the  effects  of  which  he  was  now 
experiencing,  or  that  it  was  he  who  was  the  giver,  I 
ran  a  great  risk  of  one  day  repeating  the  proverb: 
**  For  one  pleasure  a  thousand  pains." 

Nothing  reassured  me  in  my  alarm,  except  that  I 
still  continued  to  enjoy  perfect  health.  Besides,  the 
more  I  called  to  mind  the  complexion  and  face  of  the 
lady  in  question,  the  more  it  seemed  to  me  that 
a  great  many  rumours  were  fabricated,  and  that, 
though  the  whole  of  our  army  was  filled  with  nothing 
but  reports  of  this  prince's  malady,  there  was  a  great 
likelihood  that  ail  this  was  but  slander. 

I  found  a  purchaser  for  my  post  as  I  had  desired. 
An  ensign  of  our  régiment,  who  was  one  of  my  friends, 
knowing  I  wanted  to  get  rid  of  it,  informed  a  captain 
of  the  régiment  of  Rambures,  who  had  a  wish  to  serve 
in  our  corps.  He  was  a  long  way  away  from  us,  and 
was  serving  in  Italy.  Nevertheless,  having  discussed 
the  matter  by  letter  exactly  as  we  might  hâve  done  if 
we  had  been  in  one  another's  présence,  we  agreed  that 


220  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

he  should  betake  himself  to  Paris  directly  the  campaign 
should  hâve  ended.  I  was  to  présent  him  to  M.  le 
Cardinal,  and,  if  he  had  any  friends  about  him,  he  was 
to  make  them  speak  in  his  favour,  so  that  he  might 
approve  of  what  he  had  done.  He  felt  sure  of  obtaining 
what  he  wanted,  because  he  had  served  a  long  time, 
and,  besides,  a  captain  in  a  régiment  like  his  was 
something  in  those  days. 

Both  armies  continued  to  pursue  the  campaign  in 
their  différent  ways,  M.  le  Prince  being  eventually 
obliged  to  retreat  across  the  Somme.  Two  régiments 
of  reinforcements,  which  came  from  the  army  of  the 
Duc  de  Candale,  arrived  at  our  camp  and  described 
the  surrender  of  Bordeaux,  and  how  Orteste  had  been 
captured  while  trying  to  escape.  He  had  expiated  his 
crimes  by  the  most  cruel  death  which  could  be  devised 
for  the  most  guilty  of  men.  I  asked  for  news  of  Las 
Florides,  being  very  much  afraid  that  he  had  shared 
the  same  fate.  Both  men  were  equally  guilty,  the  only 
différence  being  that  one  had  been  chief  of  the  rebels, 
and  the  other  had  not.  However,  he  had,  they  said, 
not  been  quite  as  unfortunate  as  his  associate.  Search 
had  been  also  made  for  him  to  kill  him,  and  he  had 
very  nearly  been  caught  in  a  house  to  which  he  had 
retired,  but,  having  had  présence  of  mind  enough  to 
hide  himself  under  the  skirts  of  a  dropsical  woman,  he 
had  escaped  notice,  because  the  enormous  appearance 
which  the  woman  presented  had  been  merely  attributed 
to  her  disease.  He  had  then  gained  a  ship  which  had 
carried  him  to  England  for  two  hundred  pistoles,  and 
was  believed  to  be  there  now. 

He  was,  as  I  hâve  just  said,  quite  as  guilty  as  the 
other  man.     He  had  committed  a  thousand  robberies 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  221 

and  a  thousand  crimes  just  as  Orteste  might  hâve  done; 
but,  however  criminal  he  might  be,  as  it  is  impossible, 
when  once  one  knows  anyone,  to  wish  him  to  end  in 
such  a  way,  unless  ail  sentiments  of  humanity  are 
totally  discarded,  I  was  in  no  wise  vexed  that  he  had 
thus  found  means  to  escape  the  punishment  he  deserved. 

Meanwhile,  M.  le  Cardinal  made  us  cross  into 
Champagne,  and  increased  the  army  with  troops  under 
the  Maréchal  du  Plessis  and  most  of  those  who  were 
returning  from  Bordeaux.  We  besieged  Mouson,  but 
M.  le  Prince  as  a  set-off  captured  Rocroi.  Eventually, 
Mouson  was  taken  by  our  forces,  and  M.  le  Prince 
contented  himself  with  giving  the  command  at  Rocroi 
to  the  Seigneur  de  Montai  who  had  embraced  his  cause, 
and  who  was  net  one  of  his  worst  officers,  both  as  to 
courage  and  discipline.  This  ended  our  campaign, 
and,  as  I  now  served  only  so  to  speak  with  regret, 
perceiving  clearly  that  we  were  under  a  ministry  which 
set  more  store  on  money  than  worth,  I  at  once  took 
post,  more  resolved  than  ever  to  retire. 

The  captain  of  the  régiment  of  Ram  bures,  with 
whom  I  had  treated,  had  already  arrived  in  Paris  more 
than  three  weeks  ago.  He  had  his  money  quite  ready 
to  give  me,  and  had  sent  me  word  to  that  effect  on  his 
arrivai.  We  agreed  together  to  see  M.  le  Cardinal  the 
Thursday  following.  This  was  still  three  days  off,  and 
we  thought  it  best  not  to  hurry  more  than  this,  so  that 
the  captain  might  hâve  time  to  set  his  friends  to  work. 
One  of  them  had  a  good  deal  of  influence  with  the 
Cardinal  :  this  was  the  Maréchal  de  Clérembaut,^  a 
clever  man,  and  who  was  as  clever  as  he  was  skilful  in 
his  profession.  Be  this  as  it  may,  my  captain  having 
I  Philippe  de  Clérembaut,  Comte  de  Palluau  (1606 — 1665). 


222  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

begged  him  to  be  good  enough  to  say  a  word  to  his 
Eminence  in  his  favour,  the  maréchal  repHed  that  he 
was  sorry  that  he  did  not  ask  for  anything  more 
important  than  that,  so  as  to  show  him  how  delighted 
he  would  be  to  hâve  an  opportunity  of  doing  him  a 
service,  He  went  about  it  with  much  straightfor- 
wardness  and  fervour,  unHke  most  courtiers,  who 
promise  things  every  hour  and  every  minute,  without 
having  any  intention  of  keeping  their  promise  at  one 
time  more  than  another.  He  spoke  of  it  that  very  day 
to  the  minister,  telHng  him  that,  however  good  a 
subject  the  individual  might  be  whose  place  he  was 
taking,  the  King  would  certainly  not  lose  by  the 
exchange.  For  this  he  would  go  bail,  and  he  was 
ready  to  answer  for  it  himself,  should  he  find  that  he 
had  not  told  the  truth.  M.  le  Cardinal  received  his 
pétition  not  only  with  a  gracions  air,  but  with  so  many 
marks  of  favour,  that  the  maréchal  was  quite  dehghted. 
The  minister's  answer  was  exactly  similar  to  the  one 
the  maréchal  had  given  the  captain,  to  wit,  that  he 
was  sorry  that  no  greater  opportunity  of  serving  him 
presented  itself,  so  that  he  might  give  a  proof  of  the 
esteem  he  held  him  in.  He  had  but  to  hand  his  notes 
to  M.  le  Tellier,  and  présent  to  him  on  his  behalf  the 
person  he  was  recommending.  He  would  at  once 
settle  the  matter,  and,  as  he  knew  his  high  opinion  of 
him,  he  was  certain  it  would  be  done  with  much 
pleasure  on  his  part. 

The  maréchal  withdrew,  feeling  the  happiest  man  in 
the  world  on  account  of  thèse  fine  words,  and,  having 
announced  to  the  captain  that  M.  le  Cardinal  had 
granted  his  request,  arranged  a  time  to  take  him  to 
M.  le  Tellier.     The  captain  let  me  know  this,  thinking 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  223 

to  please  me  greatly  by  the  news.  He  had  observed 
me  very  keen  to  resign,  and  did  not  believe  I  had 
changed  my  mind  since.  I  did  not  think  so  myself, 
so  much  reason  had  I,  did  it  seem  to  me,  to  complain 
of  the  way  I  had  been  treated,  but,  eventually  hearing 
the  thing  was  done,  and  that  M.  le  Cardinal  had  made 
not  the  least  pretence  of  regretting  me,  I  felt  quite 
differently  at  hearing  this  news  than  I  should  hâve 
imagined.  Nevertheless,  I  tried  to  hide  my  confusion 
before  the  ofQcer.  I  did  not  want  him  to  be  able  some 
day  to  repeat  this  weakness  of  mine  to  his  Eminence, 
and  give  him  further  this  new  subject  for  triumph, 
after  having  already  had  so  much  reason  for  coniplain- 
ing  of  his  behaviour.  Accordingly,  as  I  still  pretended 
to  be  of  the  same  mind,  the  captain  pressed  me  to 
receive  my  money.  He  had  deposited  it  with  Le  Cat 
the  Notary,  and,  enquiring  whether  I  should  like  him  to 
bring  it  in  an  hour  or  two,  he  added,  at  the  same  time, 
that  he  did  not  think  he  would  hâve  to  wait  for  his 
commission,  because,  provided  I  gave  him  my  résigna- 
tion, he  reckoned  that  the  affair  could  not  fail  to  reach 
a  successful  issue.  I  replied  that  he  might  hâve  his 
money  brought  me  when  he  liked,  and  that,  as  to  my 
résignation,  it  was  of  no  conséquence.  I  was  going  to 
pass  the  afternoon  at  a  lawyer's,  and  would  bring  it 
back  with  me,  so,  if  he  would  return  and  see  me  about 
seven  in  the  evening,  or  the  next  morning,  it  would  be 
a  settled  thing  and  one  requiring  no  further  thought. 
He  had  but  to  choose  his  time,  and  he  would  find  me 
at  home  at  the  hour  I  should  appoint. 

Directly  he  had  left  my  house,  I  duly  went  to  a 
lawyer  whom  I  knew,  to  arrange  what  I  had  told  him. 
I  deemed  that,  as  I  had  to  swallow  this  cup,  I  had 


224  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

better  do  so  with  a  good  grâce  than  reluctantly.  I 
was  too  haughty  and  too  proud  to  do  otherwise  : 
besides  which,  I  should  hâve  been  acting  in  an  un- 
gentlemanly  way,  were  I  now  to  draw  back,  since  it 
was  myself  who  had  petitioned  for  my  retirement.  My 
captain  did  not  fail  to  return  in  the  evening,  though 
he  had  not  yet  been  to  the  house  of  M.  le  TelHer. 
Some  work  had  prevented  the  maréchal  from  going 
with  him.  He  had  put  the  matter  off  till  the  next 
morning,  and  they  were  to  go  together.  He  brought 
with  him  twelve  thousand  crowns,  which  was  the 
price  we  had  both  agreed  on,  and,  having  shut  them 
up  in  a  coffer  which  was  in  a  cabinet  which  stood  not 
far  from  my  bed,  I  placed  my  résignation  in  his  hands. 
The  next  day,  I  took  a  thousand  crowns  from  this 
coffer  to  go  and  pay  my  debts,  so  that,  directly  it  was 
done,  I  might  leave  Paris  and  take  the  rest  with  me 
to  Bearn.  This  was  settled  in  the  course  of  the 
morning,  and,  having  gone  in  the  afternoon  to  bid  fare- 
well  to  my  friends,  I  did  not  forget  M.  de  Navailles. 
He  was  quite  astounded  at  the  speech  I  made,  teUing  me 
with  an  air  of  friendship  that  what  I  had  done  was  a  pièce 
of  gross  stupidity,  and  that,  had  I  corne  to  him  for 
advice  again,  he  would  (had  he  any  influence  over  me) 
hâve  dissuaded  me!  I  replied,  that  the  thing  was 
settled,  and  one  must  think  no  more  about  it  ;  besides, 
M.  le  Cardinal  did  not  value  me  enough  to  cause  me 
any  regrets  at  leaving  him.  This  indeed  was  not 
what  he  had  sometimes  promised,  but  one  ought  not 
to  rely  on  the  promises  of  great  people  any  more  than 
on  a  winter's  sun.  Both  were  apt  to  be  soon  obscured 
by  clouds,  and  of  that  I  was  now  having  a  sad  proof, 
without  having  to  draw  upon  the  évidence  of  others. 


MEMOIRS    OP    D'ARTAGNAN  225 

Having  parted  thus,  he  thinking  never  to  set 
eyes  on  me  again,  and  I  for  my  part  being  of  the 
same  opinion,  I  went  to  complète  my  visits.  I  spent 
ail  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon  doing  this,  and,  one 
of  my  friends  having  begged  me  to  sup  with  him,  I 
only  returned  home  about  eleven  at  night.  The  land- 
lord  with  whom  I  lodged  told  me  on  my  arrivai  that 
M.  de  Navailles  had  twice  sent  for  me,  and  that,  his 
lackey  having  found  me  on  neither  occasion,  he  him- 
self  had  just  been  to  tell  me  to  wait  for  him  the  next 
morning.  He  had  something  of  conséquence  to  tell 
me,  and  he  had  given  him  strict  injunctions  to 
let  me  know.  I  was  not,  I  confess,  unmoved  by 
this  news  ;  I  was  going  away,  but  regretfuUy,  so, 
flattering  myself  that  the  important  news  he  had 
to  tell  me  was,  that  I  was  to  stay,  I  lingered  agreeably 
on  such  an  idea.  I  imagined  that  M.  le  Cardinal 
was  about  to  do  something  for  me,  and  that  he 
must  hâve  informed  me  of  it.  I  did  not  sleep  a 
wink  the  whole  night,  so  impatient  was  I  to  learn 
whether  I  was  deceived  or  not.  The  night,  neverthe- 
less,  seemed  very  long  to  me,  for  there  is  nothing  more 
wearisome  than  not  to  sleep  when  one  bas  gone  to 
bed.  Nevertheless,  it  having  passed  just  as  any  other 
might  hâve  done,  before  it  was  yet  six  o'clock  M.  de 
Navailles  was  announced.  I  was  stretched  out  in  my 
bed,  and,  having  got  into  an  arm-chair  near  my  couch, 
he  told  me  that  M.  le  Cardinal  did  not  want  me  to 
départ.  He  had  never  been  so  surprised  as  when  he 
had  learnt  of  my  selling  my  post,  for  he  had  not 
thought  that  it  was  mine  that  the  Maréchal  de 
Clérembaut  had  asked  to  dispose  of.  For  this  reason, 
he  had  at  once  sent  to  M.  le  Tellier  to  forbid  him  to 
VOL.  II  iq 


226  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

deliver  the  documents.  M.  de  Navailles  added  that  ail 
would  be  well  for  me,  unless  he  was  much  deceived, 
and  that  was  why  I  must  appear  at  the  morning 
audience  of  his  Eminence,  to  thank  him  for  the 
interest  which  he  seemed  to  take  in  my  affairs.  He 
had  called  upon  me  the  previous  evening,  so  as  to 
let  me  know  this  good  news,  and  had  again  returned 
this  morning  for  the  same  purpose  ;  for,  although  no 
one  was  up  at  the  présent  hour,  it  had  been  his 
opinion  that,  had  he  even  been  more  matutinal  than 
he  was,  I  should  hâve  found  no  fault,  because  one 
could  never  be  too  early  to  announce  such  news  as 
this! 

I  thanked  him  to  the  best  of  my  abilities  for  the 
warmth  with  which  he  still  continued  to  manifest  his 
friendship.  He  then  went  to  his  work,  and  scarcely 
had  he  left  when  my  captain  entered  with  a  sorrowful 
face,  and  one  on  which  it  was  easy  to  read  his  grief. 
He  told  me  he  was  bringing  back  my  résignation, 
because  M.  le  Tellier  had  sent  to  tell  the  Maréchal 
de  Clérembaut  that  M.  le  Cardinal  had  forbidden  him 
to  issue  the  necessary  documents.  He  had  been 
astounded  to  the  last  degree,  because  this  was  not 
only  inconsistent  with  his  word  which  he  had  given 
to  the  maréchal,  when  he  had  spoken  to  him  on  his 
behalf,  but  also  contrary  to  the  assurance  which  M.  le 
Tellier  had  also  given  him  when  they  had  been  to  see  him 
together.  It  was  true  that  the  latter  had  appeared 
very  much  surprised,  when  the  maréchal  had  told  him 
that  the  discussion  was  concerning  my  post.  But 
eventually,  he  had  not  failed  to  be  as  civil  as  possible, 
and  to  promise  him  as  well  a  thousand  fine  things  on 
account  of  the  influence  which  had   been  employed. 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  227 

He  could  not  divine  the  origin  of  this  change,  but  most 
likely  I  could  let  him  know,  were  I  to  trouble  to  do  so, 
since  it  seemed  impossible  for  me  to  know  nothing 
about  it. 

I  answered  him  quite  sincerely  that  ail  that  I  could 
say  was,  that  I  had  been  informed  that  M.  le  Cardinal 
vvould  not  consent  to  my  giving  up  my  post  ;  that  I 
had  just  heard  this  from  M.  de  Navailles,  who  had  that 
moment  left  me  ;  that  this  change  surprised  me  just  as 
much  as  himself,  because  it  seemed  to  me  that  this 
minister  ought  not  to  change  his  mind  so  soon  con- 
cerning  me,  after  the  little  attention  he  had  a  thousand 
times  bestowed  on  the  matter.  M.  le  Maréchal  de 
Clérembaut  must,  I  added,  hâve  told  him  that  it  was 
my  post  he  was  discussing,  whilst  he  was  asking  to 
hâve  the  disposai  of  it,  so  it  was  surprising  enough, 
and  even  incompréhensible  that,  after  having  consented 
in  the  way  he  had,  he  should  now  be  unwilling  to  give 
his  assent. 

The  captain  rejoined  that,  when  the  maréchal  had 
spoken  of  it,  no  one  had  been  mentioned  by  name. 
He  had  only  asked  the  Cardinal  for  the  disposai  of  a 
lieutenancy  in  the  Guards,  without  specifying  the 
person  from  whom  he  was  going  to  purchase  it.  There 
layhis  mistake,  and  the  apparent  cause  of  the  Cardinal 
retracting  his  word.  Nevertheless,  I  must  take  con- 
solation, since,  if  this  minister  did  not  want  to  ruin  me, 
as  seemed  likely,  he  might  not  be  so  considerate 
towards  everyone  else.  One  of  my  comrades  would 
some  time  be  discovered,  who  would  be  willing  to  get 
rid  of  his  lieutenancy,  and,  as  he  now  knew  how  to 
manage  matters  in  a  way  to  encounter  no  obstacles, 
he  would,  on  another  occasion,  when  désirons  of  pur- 

15—2 


238  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

chasing  the  post,  not  fail  to  do  everything  necessary. 
At  the  same  time,  he  asked  me  for  the  return  of  his 
money,  as  it  was  right  that  I  should  give  it  back,  but, 
having  used  up  a  thousand  crowns  of  it,  I  replied  that 
for  the  présent  ail  I  could  do  was  to  return  eleven 
thousand  crowns,  because,  as  I  had  believed  I  was  to 
départ  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours,  I  had  made  use 
of  the  rest  to  pay  my  debts.  I  added  that  I  was  now 
very  sorry  for  this,  but,  not  having  been  able  to  foresee 
what  was  happening  to-day,  he  must  give  me  a  little 
time  to  meet  the  situation. 

This  captain  was  rather  a  hard  man,  so,  instead  of 
receiving  my  excuse  civilly,  he  retorted,  roughly  enough, 
that  he  did  not  understand  how  I  made  this  out.  One 
ought  never,  it  appeared  to  him,  to  dispose  of  money 
which  was  not  one's  own  and  his  did  not  belong  to  me 
till  such  time  as  he  should  hâve  been  established  in  my 
post.  This  was  the  custom  of  good  society,  without 
it  being  permissible  in  any  way  to  pass  its  limits.  I 
replied  (without  taking  either  a  higher  or  lower  tone, 
for,  had  I  spoken  more  haughtily,  it  might,  perhaps, 
hâve  seemed  as  if  I  was  trying  to  pick  a  quarrel  with 
him,  because  I  owed  him  money)  that  I  agreed  that 
such  was  the  custom  about  a  deposit,  but  his  money 
had  appeared  to  me  to  be  my  own  property,  and,  con- 
sequently,  I  had  been  able  to  dispose  of  it  as  I  had 
done,  without  violating  the  most  strict  rules  of  honesty. 
I  was,  however,  sorry  for  it  to-day,  since  things  had 
turned  out  differently.  This  was  ail  I  could  plead  in 
my  own  justification,  always  supposing  that  I  had 
made  a  mistake,  for  which  excuse  was  necessary.  In 
spite  of  this,  I  thought  there  was  no  need  of  any,  and, 
doubtless,  he  would  form  just   the   same  opinion  as 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  229 

myself,  were  he  to  be  willing  to  think  the  matter  over 
a  little. 

The  captain  was  so  uncivil,  or,  to  be  more  accurate, 
so  brutal,  as  not  to  be  satisfied  with  my  answer.  He 
was  beginning  to  irritate  me  terribly.  I  was  not  at  ail 
long-suffering  by  nature,  so  I  fait  my  gorge  rising  more 
than  once.  Nevertheless,  having  again  mastered  my- 
self, so  as  to  make  no  retort,  because,  as  money  was 
concerned,  I  feared  that,  however  right  I  might  be, 
people  might  perhaps  not  be  willing  to  forego  apply- 
ing  that  proverb  to  me  which  says,  "  he  who  owes  is  in 
the  wrong,"  it  appeared  as  if  my  patience  was  making 
him  even  more  insolent  than  before.  At  last,  having 
bitten  my  lips  several  times  to  stop  my  saying  that 
which  my  resentment  brought  to  the  tip  of  my  tongue, 
one  of  my  friends  chanced  to  enter  my  room  without 
in  any  way  knowing  what  was  going  on.  He  had  only 
learnt  how  my  affairs  had  turned  out  at  Court,  and 
had  come  to  congratulate  me.  This  he  thought  him- 
self  the  more  forced  to  do,  because  I  had  always  held 
him  in  particular  esteem,  and  because  he  had  never 
been  willing  to  approve  (any  more  than  had  M.  de 
Navailles)  of  my  giving  up  everything,  as  I  had  been 
desirous  of  doing.  I  was  delighted  to  see  him,  as  I 
had  need  of  a  witness  who  could  give  an  account  of 
my  behaviour,  especially  were  the  captain  to  oblige  me 
to  resort  to  force,  to  protect  myself  against  his  inso- 
lence. Accordingly,  making  no  difficulties  about  at 
once  telling  him  what  was  occurring  between  us  two, 
he  raised  his  voice  to  tell  this  captain  that,  in  his 
opinion,  he  was  wrong.  There  was  no  likelihood  of 
my  running  away  on  account  of  a  matter  of  a  thousand 
crowns,  and,  even  had  I  spent  the  whole  of  his  money, 
no  one  could  hâve  blamed  me  for  it,  since,  as  I  had 


230  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

very  excellently  told  him,  I  had  had  good  reason  to 
deem  it  my  own. 

The  captain,  who  was  a  good  deal  more  selfish  than 
reasonable,  rejoined  that  the  speaker  was  too  great 
a  friend  of  mine  for  him  to  consent  to  share  his  views, 
and,  still  continuing  to  upbraid  me  as  he  had  begun 
to  do,  my  friend  ended  by  not  having  as  much  patience 
as  I  had  had.  He  told  him  that  he  must  certainly  be 
paid  without  a  moment's  delay,  since  he  was  not  the 
man  to  grant  a  respite.  He  himself  would  go  and  get 
the  thousand  crowns,  but  would  take  care,  whilst  going 
to  find  them,  to  furnish  himself  with  a  friend  who 
would  help  him  to  prove  to  both  of  us  that  his  sword 
was  as  good  as  his  tongue  was  evil.  The  captain 
answered  that,  if  that  was  the  only  thing  needful  to 
restore  his  money  to  him,  the  matter  should  be  soon 
settled.  He  had  but  to  set  out  to  get  it,  and  he  for  his 
part  would  prépare  to  act  on  his  proposai.  Both  my 
friend  and  myself  really  believed  that  he  was  speaking 
sincerely,  and  just  as  we  might  hâve  done,  had  we 
been  in  his  position.  However,  instead  of  carrying 
out  what  he  had  told  us,  he  betook  himself  to  the 
house  of  the  Maréchal  de  Clérembaut,  before  whom  he 
laid  his  demands.  He  told  him  that,  instead  of  return- 
ing  his  money,  I  admitted  having  spent  a  part  of  it. 
This  the  maréchal  believed,  not  knowing  that  the 
captain  was  an  ill-bred  fellow  ;  so,  a  moment  later,  I 
received  a  visit  from  a  guard,  who  brought  an  order 
for  me  to  appear  before  MM.  les  Maréchaux  de  France, 
to  account  for  my  actions.  Never  was  man  so  astounded 
as  I  at  the  appearance  of  the  guard  !  I  at  once  sus- 
pected  on  whose  behalf  he  had  been  sent,  and  he 
himself  admitted  the  truth  of  my  suspicions  to  me. 

Meanwhile,  my  friend  returned  with  the  thousand 
crowns  he  had  promised.     He  had  just  sold  his  silver 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  231 

plate  to  get  me  out  of  this  mess.  He  was  nearly  as 
astonished  as  myself,  when  he  perceived  the  guard, 
and  would  hardly  hâve  believed  that  he  had  come  in 
connection  with  the  captain's  business,  had  I  not  told 
him  that  the  man  had  been  the  first  to  admit  it. 
However,  even  had  he  not  been  willing  to  do  so,  both 
of  us  would  not  hâve  failed  to  hâve  known  it  :  for,  far 
from  the  captain  returning  as  he  had  promised,  he  did 
not  shoMT  himself  again  to  us,  except  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Maréchaux  de  France.  The  Maréchal  de  Clérem- 
baut  caused  this  meeting  to  be  held  the  same  day  by 
his  Personal  influence,  and,  having  been  notified  to 
attend,  I  previously  took  my  guard  to  the  house  of 
M.  de  Navailles,  whom  I  wished  to  tell  that  I  should 
not  be  able  to  go  and  thank  M.  le  Cardinal  at  his 
morning-audience,  as  I  had  been  recommended  to  do, 
on  account  of  the  unfortunate  occurrence  which  had 
happened  to  me.  I  did  not  find  him  at  home,  and, 
having  written  a  note  to  let  him  know,  my  servant 
was  never  able  to  deliver  it  to  him,  although  I  expressly 
sent  it  to  the  house  of  M.  le  Cardinal,  where  I  was 
well  aware  he  would  be.  He  was,  indeed,  there,  but  a 
guard,  who  disliked  me,  and  who  was  at  the  door, 
having  been  malicious  enough  to  refuse  my  man 
entrance,  the  latter  had  not  the  sensé  to  complain 
either  to  Besmaux  or  to  some  other  offîcer  of  that 
Company,^  so  as  to  hâve  the  soldier  called  to  order. 
As  ail  the  officers  were  friends  of  mine,  or,  at  least, 
acquaintances,  they  would  certainly  hâve  procured 
him  access  to  M.  de  Navailles,  for  whom  he  was 
searching.  His  stupidity  having  duly  caused  this  mis- 
hap,  M.  le  Cardinal  was  very  much  scandalised  at  not 

I  Cardinal  Mazarin's  Musketeers,  afterwards  the  and  Com- 
pany of  Musketeers,  known  as  "  Les  Mousquetaires  noirs  " 
from  their  black  horses. 


232  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

seeing  me.  It  had  been  by  his  orders  that  Navailles 
had  corne  to  visit  me,  though  he  had  made  a  mystery 
of  it  ;  so,  believing  that  I  might,  perhaps,  hâve  taken 
post  to  départ,  as  it  had  been  reported  to  him  that  I 
had  received  my  money,  he  told  Navailles  that,  if  I 
had  done  such  a  thing  as  that,  after  having  received  his 
message,  I  might  rely  that  he  would  hâve  me  arrested 
wherever  I  might  be.  Navailles  made  answer  that  his 
Eminence  would  be  doing  just  the  right  thing,  but 
added  that  he  did  not  think  he  would  be  put  to  that 
trouble.  He  knew  me  too  well  even  to  impute  such  a 
thing  to  me.  It  was  true  I  did  not  belle  my  birth  in 
the  way  of  being  proud,  but,  whatever  pride  I  might 
hâve,  I  was  wont  to  always  moderate  it  by  reason.  If 
the  Cardinal  wished  it,  he  would  set  out  that  very 
minute,  to  discover  the  cause  of  my  having  failed  in 
my  duty,  and  would  immediately  bring  back  the 
answer. 

The  Cardinal  was  too  diplomatie  to  consent  to  such 
a  thing  as  this.  He  would  hâve  been  afraid  of  my 
getting  too  much  the  whip-hand  of  him,  and  of  my 
thinking  that  he  could  no  longer  do  without  me.  It 
was  for  this  reason  that  he  had  instructed  Navailles 
not  to  tell  me  on  his  visit  that  he  had  come  on  his  be- 
half.  Being  therefore  intent  on  pursuing  the  same 
policy  for  the  présent,  he  told  him  that  it  must  not 
be  he  who  should  go,  it  had  much  better  be  Besmaux, 
because  his  going  would  seem  of  much  less  importance. 
He  would  merely  hâve  to  prétend  that  he  had  heard  of 
my  having  wanted  to  départ,  and  had  consequently 
come  to  congratulate  me  on  matters  having  turned  out 
differently. 

Navailles  agreed  with  him  that  he  was  right,  and 
would  even  hâve  done  so  had  he  not  been,  to  such  an 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  233 

extent  was  he  wont  to  give  way  to  ail  his  wishes  !  He 
went  to  tell  Besmaux,  who  was  in  the  guard-room, 
what  his  Eminence  desired  of  him,  Besmaux  set  out 
to  go  and  see  me,  and  as  an  hour  had  already  elapsed 
since  I  had  returned  from  my  ineffectuai  visit  to 
Navailles,  he  found  me  quite  alone  with  my  guard. 
My  friend  had  gone  away,  and  had  strongly  insisted 
upon  my  keeping  the  thousand  crowns,  though  I  had 
tried  to  force  him  to  take  them  back.  I  had  alleged 
as  a  reason  that,  as  the  man  we  were  dealing  with  had 
failed  to  keep  his  word,  it  was  no  longer  necessary  to 
make  a  point  of  paying  him  so  soon.  MM.  les  Maré- 
chaux de  France  would  listen  to  reason  better  than  he, 
and  would  thus  not  refuse  me  the  time  I  might  ask 
for.  At  the  same  time  I  had  tried  to  oblige  him  to 
return  to  get  his  silver  plate,  offering  to  myself  give 
the  silversmith  whatever  he  might  ask  as  the  price  of 
returning  it.  However,  after  having  scoffed  at  my 
offers  as  being  unworthy  of  being  made  to  a  friend, 
he  had  told  me  that  he  desired  me  to  keep  this  money, 
because  he  had  an  idea  in  his  head,  which  did  not 
accord  with  the  réception  which  I  intended  giving 
this  captain. 

Besmaux  congratulated  me  with  a  much  heavier 
heart  than  Navailles  had  ever  had.  Being  a  man,  as  I 
think  I  hâve  already  said,  who  knew  nothing  about 
friendship  when  his  own  interests  were  concerned,  far 
from  telling  me,  or  making  me  realise  by  well-chosen 
words  what  was  going  on,  as  sometimes  is  done 
amongst  people  of  the  same  province,  and  those  who 
hâve  some  mutual  bond,  he  made  no  mention  of 
the  Cardinal  on  one  side  or  the  other,  and  I  did  the 
same  thing,  not  alluding  to  the  reason  of  the  guard  being 
with  me.     However,  he  could  not  be  deceived  on  the 


234  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

subject,  as  the  man  was  in  a  décent  dress.  He  bore 
on  bis  back  the  signs  of  bis  occupation,  as  that  sort  of 
man  usually  does.  In  spite  of  this,  Besmaux  was 
curious  enough  to  ask  me  what  could  hâve  occurred  to 
bave  gained  me  such  a  companion.  However,  as  I 
desired  that  it  sbould  be  Navailles  who  should  describe 
this  affair  to  the  Cardinal,  I  contented  myself  with 
making  reply,  that  it  was  a  question  of  money  which 
had  involved  me  in  a  dispute  with  an  individual,  and 
not  having  been  able  to  arrange  it  in  a  friendly  manner, 
we  had  to  bave  the  affair  settled  by  MM.  les  Maréchaux 
de  France.  I  had  but  spoken  the  truth  in  telling  him 
this  ;  so,  deeming  it  a  true  account,  he  left  me  a 
moment  later  to  go  and  describe  to  his  Eminence  both 
what  he  had  seen,  and  what  I  had  told  him. 

Before  allowing  him  to  départ,  I  entrusted  him  with 
the  letter  which  I  had  written  to  Navailles,  and  which 
my  lackey  had  brought  back  to  me.  This  letter 
appeased  the  anger  of  M.  le  Cardinal,  when  Navailles 
had  shown  it  to  him,  and  when  he  had  told  him  that 
my  not  appearing  at  his  audience  had  been  through 
no  fault  of  my  own.  At  the  same  time,  Navailles  told 
him  that  I  was  very  unfortunate,  since  trouble  over- 
came  me  when  I  least  expected  it.  The  Cardinal 
broke  off  the  conversation,  being  afraid  that  he  merely 
said  this  in  order  to  make  him  understand  that  he 
ought  to  pay  the  liability  for  me,  whilst  awaiting  an 
opportunity  of  doing  me  some  good  turn.  Navailles 
came  to  see  me  about  the  matter,  and  declared  that  he 
was  very  much  put  out  at  not  having  the  ready  money 
handy  to  offer  me  on  this  occasion.  I  thanked  him, 
not  for  his  good  will,  but  for  his  kind  speeches.  Indeed, 
I  knew  that  he  might  not  only  bave  lent  me  this  sum 
had  he  liked,  but  even  thirty  times  as  much,  had  it 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  235 

been  needecL  Of  ail  the  courtiers  of  his  Eminence, 
there  was  not  one  whose  affairs  were  in  such  a  good 
State  as  his  were.  He  had  obtained  an  infinité  number 
of  favours  from  that  minister,  so  much  so,  that  it 
might  be  said  that,  avaricious  as  he  was  with  regard 
to  others,  Navailles  had  found  means  to  change  his 
character  as  far  as  he  himself  was  concerned.  Mean- 
while,  as  one  must  take  the  good  with  the  bad  in  one's 
friends,  I  took  care  not  to  show  that  his  words 
annoyed  me.  On  the  contrary,  I  was  as  civil  as  I 
could  possibly  be,  to  that  degree  that  he  left  me  in 
great  good  humour. 

My  friend,  who  had  lent  me  the  thousand  crowns, 
came  to  dine  with  me.  He  had  bidden  me  wait  for 
him,  and,  having  drawn  me  aside  when  we  had  risen 
firom  table,  he  said  that,  when  I  should  appear  before 
MM.  les  Maréchaux  de  France,  I  must  not  make  any 
mention  at  ail  of  him,  unless  my  opponent  should 
speak  first  on  the  subject.  Should  he  not  do  so,  I 
could  pay  him  off  in  due  time,  and  déclare  that  I  had 
found  my  thousand  crowns  in  the  purse  of  one  of  my 
friends.  Were  he,  however,  to  speak  of  him,  I  must 
ask  for  time  to  pay  thèse  three  thousand  crowns.  This 
he  deemed  necessary,  to  do  away  with  the  suspicion 
that  the  captain  might  hâve  been  called  out  for  being 
such  a  coward  as  to  lodge  a  complaint  about  this 
affair.  Accordingly,  I  must  deny  it  like  "  murder 
itself,"  for  I  might,  perhaps,  not  be  aware  that  edicts 
existed,  which  threatened  heavy  penalties  against  those 
who  might  challenge  others  to  the  préjudice  of  the 
law. 

My  friend  stayed  with  me  till  three  o'clock,  and,  as 
this  was  about  the  time  that  the  meeting  of  the 
Maréchaux  de  France  was  to  take  place,  I  entered  a 


236  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

carriage  with  three  or  four  of  my  friends,  who  were 
desirous  of  accompanying  me,  for  it  is  the  custom  not 
to  allow  those  called  before  this  court  to  go  there 
quite  alone  :  so,  the  more  friends  one  has,  the  better 
Company  one  goes  in.  The  Maréchal  de  Clérembaut 
was  there,  and  though,  perhaps,  this  was  the  first  time 
that  he  found  himself  the  sovereign  judge  of  the 
nobihty,  (for  it  was  but  a  very  short  time  that  he  had 
been  honoured  with  the  bâton  of  a  Maréchal  de  France), 
he  did  nearly  everything  he  could  to  prove  that  my 
conduct  had  not  been  straightforward.  I  asked  him, 
with  ail  the  respect  which  was  his  due,  and  which  I 
should  not  hâve  owed  him  six  months  before  (for  he 
was  of  no  better  family  than  anyone  else),  in  what 
respect  I  could  be  accused  of  bad  faith,  as  he  urged  ? 
I,  who  had  disposed  of  money  which  I  deemed  to 
legitimately  belong  to  me  !  He  was  extremely  sur- 
prised  at  my  firmness,  and  even  more  so  at  my 
reasoning  being  just  as  fair  as  his  own/  As  he  spoke 
a  good  deal,  and  even  spoke  very  well,  he  had  thought 
to  at  once  overcome  me  by  his  cackle  !  The  other 
maréchaux  listened  to  me,  and  could  not  disapprove 
of  the  liberty  I  was  taking  by  contradicting  my  accuser. 
Nevertheless,  as  there  are  no  judges  who  do  not  sup- 
port one  another,  especially  when  they  see  that  one  of 
their  number  is  attacked  in  their  own  tribunal,  the 
Maréchal  d'Estrées,  who  gloried  in  overriding  every- 
one,    asked   me  what    I    expected   to  gain  by  ail  my 

1  D'Artagnan  hère  speaks  ironically.  The  Maréchal  de 
Clérembault  stammered  and  expressed  himself  only  with  great 
difficulty.  Madame  Cornuel,  with  whom  he  had  a  liaison,  after 
a  final  interview,  said  :  "  It  is  a  pity  he  is  going  away,  I  was  just 
beginning  to  understand  him." 


ME  MOI  R  s  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  237 

arguments,  and  whether  I  thought  they  would  get  me 
off  paying  ? 

Though  lie  said  this  rudely  enough,  I  was  delighted 
that  I  was  asked  for  nothing  more  but  payment.  I 
was  afraid  that  something  further  might  be  brought 
against  me  on  the  score  of  the  challenge  made  to  my 
adversary  by  my  friend,  and  that  both  of  us  might  be 
sent  to  prison.  My  opponent  was  présent  at  the  whole 
of  the  proceedings,  and  I  tried  to  irritate  him,  so  as  to 
make  him  blurt  out  ail  his  grievances.  I  tried  after 
this  to  défend  myself,  according  to  my  friend's  advice  : 
but,  having  remained  silent  for  a  long  time,  I  no  sooner 
perceived  that  he  had  been  wise  enough  not  to  impli- 
cate  others  from  fear  of  losing  his  own  réputation,  than 
I  told  the  Maréchal  d'Estrées,  by  way  of  answer  to  the 
pièce  of  rudeness  he  had  just  favoured  me  with,  that 
neither  he  nor  the  other  Maréchaux  de  France  would 
ever  hâve  seen  me  before  them,  had  I  had  to  deal  with 
a  man  with  sufficient  patience  to  wait  merely  twenty- 
four  hours.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  had  already  pro- 
cured  the  thousand  crowns  which  I  lacked  to  complète 
his  money,  and  it  but  lay  with  him  to  now  come  and 
get  them.  I  was  very  malicious  in  speaking  thus.  I 
wanted  to  frighten  the  captain,  knowing  from  expérience 
that  he  was  none  too  bold.  My  adversary  at  the  same 
time,  raising  his  voice,  replied  that  there  was  no  need 
for  him  to  go  :  for,  since  he  had  brought  the  crowns  to 
my  house,  I  ought  to  hâve  them  returned  to  his,  or, 
at  least,  to  his  lawyer's,  which  was  half-way.  This 
lawyer  lived  quite  close  to  St.  Eustache,  the  captain 
near  Ste.  Marie,^  and  myself  close  to  the  Palais  Royal. 

1  Sainte  Marie-l' Égyptienne  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Mont- 
martre and  the  Rue  de  la  Jussienne,  which  last  word  is  a 
corruption  of  Égyptienne. 


238  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Upon  this,  the  Maréchal  de  Clérembaut  spoke,  declaring 
that,  after  this  gentleman's  having  cited  me  before  the 
court,  he  did  not  think  it  very  fit  that  we  should  meet 
each  other  face  to  face  before  our  dispute  should  be 
completely  adjusted.  So,  if  his  advice  were  followed,  I 
ought  to  carry  this  money  to  the  lawyer,  who  would 
return  me  my  résignation.  His  viewswere  those  of  the 
other  Maréchaux  de  France,  and,  ail  being  of  the  same 
opinion,  I  took  thèse  twelve  thousand  crowns  to  the 
house  of  Le  Cat,  where  the  captain  did  not  dare  to  be 
to  receive  them.  This  did  not  prevent  my  giving  them 
to  the  lawyer,  and,  he  having  returned  my  résignation 
to  me,  the  affair  would  hâve  ended  there,  had  not  ail 
which  had  passed  lain  heavy  on  the  hearts  of  myself 
and  my  friend.  Accordingly,  we  longed  to  obtain 
satisfaction  :  this  is  why  my  friend,  having  gone  to 
find  the  captain,  the  next  morning  caught  him  while 
rising  from  his  bed,  so  that  he  could  not  get  out  of  the 
affair,  if  he  were  a  man  of  the  slightest  spirit.  How- 
ever,  as  he  was  not,  no  sooner  did  he  hear  what  my 
friend  had  to  say  (which  was  that  he  would  always 
show  him  up  as  being  a  coward,  unless  he  gave  us 
satisfaction),  than  he  answered  that,  please  God,  he 
would  never  make  such  a  mistake  as  that.  He  knew 
that  MM.  les  Maréchaux  de  France  had  forbidden  us 
not  only  to  resort  to  any  violence,  but,  further,  had 
reconciled  us  both.  Accordingly,  as  it  would  be 
making  himself  doubly  guilty  to  break  their  decrees, 
since  it  would  be  wanting  in  respect  to  them  and  to 
his  Majesty,  he  had  taken  care  to  do  nothing  contrary 
to  his  duty.  My  friend  was  an  extremely  violent  man, 
so,  not  parleying  with  the  captain  in  any  way  after  this 
reply  nor  restraining   himself,  he  told  him  so  many 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  239 

offensive  things,  that  the  man  made  pretence  of  being 
offended.  Declaring  that  honour  was  concerned,  he 
appointed  a  meeting-place  in  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  for 
us  to  fight,  two  against  two.  My  friend  came  to  tell 
me  ail  this,  and  how  he  had  had  to  provoke  my 
adversary  to  render  him  sensitive.  I  deemed  ail  this 
augured  none  too  well,  and,  telling  him  at  once,  as 
if  by  inspiration,  that  perfidy  was  in  the  air,  and  that 
I  would  advise  him  not  to  keep  this  appointment,  he 
replied  that  he  would  not  prevent  me  from  failing  to 
go,  did  I  feel  at  ail  suspicious.  For  himself,  he  would 
take  care  not  to  miss  it,  even  were  his  existence  at 
stake.  His  honour  was  dearer  to  him  than  his  life, 
and,  as  it  would  suffer  if  he  did  not  keep  this  appoint- 
ment, it  was  his  firm  intention  to  be  the  first  on  the 
spot. 

Such  words  as  thèse  were  calculated  to  make  me  forget 
the  remembrance  of  the  obligation  I  was  under  to  him  ! 
No  man  had  ever  been  told,  as  he  was  telling  me,  that, 
were  I  afraid,  I  had  but  to  go  and  hide  myself.  True 
it  is  that  he  had  not  exactly  used  thèse  terms.  He  had 
seen  fit  to  conceal  what  he  thought  beneath  other 
phrases  not  quite  so  harsh,  but  which  yet  meant  but 
the  same  thing  to  those  who  knew  French  well.  In 
conséquence,  I  was  so  outraged  that,  had  I  been  able 
to  engage  in  combat  with  him  on  the  spot,  without 
having  exposed  myself  to  censure,  I  should  hâve  done 
so  with  ail  the  pleasure  in  the  world.  Nevertheless, 
as  I  was  afraid  that  the  world  might  dub  me  as  being 
a  mère  monster  of  ingratitude,  I  adopted  a  more  con- 
ciliating  tone  with  him.  I  pointed  out  that,  if  reason 
showed  me  that  some  danger  existed,  there  was  on 
that  account  no  cause  for  saying  that  my  courage  was 


240  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

impaired  thereby.  He  had  but  to  lead  me  where  he 
liked,  I  would  follow  to  the  end.  He  might  repent  of 
it  just  as  much  as  myself,  but  it  should  make  no 
différence  to  me,  since  such  was  his  wish. 

My  friend  pretended  not  to  hear  my  words,  and, 
having  the  next  morning  made  me  mount  horse,  we 
took  the  road  called  the  Chemin  des  Bons  Hommes, 
to  enter  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  by  the  gâte  which  lies 
on  that  side  of  it.  The  meeting  agreed  on  was  to  take 
place  between  seven  or  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and,  having  betaken  ourselves  to  the  gâte,  we  found  it 
shut,  at  which  I  was  surprised  enough.  It  is  true  that 
we  were  then  in  the  shortest  days  of  the  year,  which 
made  me,  after  some  reflection,  think  that  it  arose 
merely  from  laziness  having  overcome  the  porter,  and 
that  he  had  not  yet  risen.  We  knocked,  in  order  to 
hâve  the  gâte  opened,  and  the  porter,  having  at  once 
appeared,  told  my  friend,  who  was  the  first  to  approach 
him,  that  he  must  return  to  Paris  without  losing  a 
moment's  time,  for  he  would  inevitably  be  lost  were  he 
to  advance  but  a  quarter  of  a  league  into  the  Bois. 
It  was  full  of  archers  ready  to  capture  him  on  account 
of  information  received,  that  he  was  coming  to  fight  a 
duel  of  two  against  two. 

The  porter  had  been  my  friend's  servant  fifteen  or 
sixteen  years  before,  and,  as  he  kept  a  wine-shop,  he 
had  obtained  this  information  from  an  archer  who  had 
slept  at  his  house  and  had  given  him  a  description  of 
what  was  on  foot,  after  drinking  without  knowing  his 
connection  with  my  friend.  This  had  been  the  cause 
of  his  having  shut  the  door,  from  fear  of  our  making 
our  appearance  without  his  perceiving  us.  My  friend 
was  much  surprised  to  hear  him  speak  like  this,  and 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  241 

told  me  that  I  had  been  more  in  the  right  than  him- 
self  ;  for  this  reason,  he  now  thought  that  we  should 
not  be  far  wrong,  were  we  to  retrace  our  steps  without 
even  having  the  curiosity  to  look  behind  us.  I  was 
dehghted  that  he  should  take  this  line  of  his  own 
accord,  both  because  our  safety  was  concerned,  and 
because  it  would  make  him  repent  of  his  having  in- 
sulted  me  as  he  had  done.  We  immediately  returned 
to  Paris,  and  my  friend  having  on  the  way  asked  my 
pardon  for  his  angry  behaviour  to  me,  I  made  reply 
that  it  was  very  necessary  to  put  up  with  certain 
things  from  one's  friend,  when  one  knew,  as  I  had 
known  in  his  case,  that  their  intentions  were  not 
malicious. 

The  captain,  after  having  waited  for  us  some  time  in 
the  Bois,  had  the  insolence  to  come  and  look  for  my 
friend  at  his  very  house  in  company  with  his  pretended 
second,  to  ask  him  the  reason  of  our  not  having  made 
our  appearance  on  the  ground.  He  intended  appar- 
ently  to  invest  himself  with  a  good  deal  of  glory  at 
having  caught  us  in  fault,  but  my  friend,  who  had  not 
allowed  me  to  say  one  word,  without  getting  angry 
at  its  not  having  been  to  his  taste,  was  up  in  arms 
directly  he  heard  the  man  speak  in  this  way.  At  once 
drawing  his  sword,  and  without  giving  him  time  to 
utter  any  more  similar  speeches,  he  taunted  him  with 
not  contenting  himself  with  being  a  coward,  and 
further  declared  that  it  was  no  fault  of  his  that  he  had 
not  added  betrayal  to  his  lack  of  courage.  The  cap- 
tain pretended  not  to  understand  what  he  meant  by 
this  and  asked  for  an  explanation,  so  that  he  might 
answer  it.  My  friend  would  give  him  no  other  than 
that  which  he  was  presenting  to  him,  that  is  to  say, 
VOL.  II  16 


242  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

a  chance  of  fighting.  But  as,  when  once  a  man  is  full 
of  feebleness,  nothing  can  spur  him  on  to  do  a  good 
deed,  my  friand  might  well  présent  the  point  of  his 
sword  at  his  stomach  ;  the  captain  could  never  make  up 
his  mind  to  put  his  hand  to  his  own  weapon!  His 
second  did  just  the  same  before  me,  so  much  so,  that 
it  seemed  as  if  he  had  been  chosen  as  being  the  double 
of  his  principal,  so  that  neither  might  reproach  the 
other.  I  also  held  my  sword  in  front  of  his  stomach, 
but,  perceiving  that  he  was  just  as  callous  as  his 
comrade,  I  began  to  give  my  friend  the  signal  as  to 
how  we  ought  to  treat  thèse  two  worthies.  My  signal 
went  beyond  the  usual  ones  and  even  beyond  ordinary 
practical  démonstration,  for  I  set  to  to  give  my  un- 
willing  opponent  a  séries  of  blows  on  the  head  with  the 
flat  of  my  sword,  a  thing  he  bore  with  a  patience 
which  surprised  me.  This  did  not  ail  the  same  occur 
without  his  at  first  making  some  move.  He  attempted 
to  get  to  the  door,  and  having  happily  reached  it,  shut 
it  on  himself  to  save  me,  as  it  seemed,  the  trouble  of 
escorting  him  any  further. 

The  captain  was  at  once  treated  by  my  friend  in 
just  the  same  way  as  his  second  had  been  by  me,  and 
exactly  followed  his  example.  He  allowed  himself  to 
be  beaten  without  making  even  the  least  show  of 
revenging  himself,  and,  having  tried  to  run  away  just 
as  the  other  had  done,  made  an  effort  to  open  the 
door.  It  but  lay  with  my  friend  to  run  him  right 
through.  The  man's  back  was  turned  towards  him, 
and  could  not  hâve  been  in  a  better  position,  but,  as 
an  honourable  man  never  sullies  his  hands  with  the 
blood  of  a  wretch  who,  far  from  trying  to  défend 
himself,  seeks  only  to  escape,  my  friend  himself  opened 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  243 

the  door,  so  as  this  coward  might  reach  the  staircase. 
He  did  not  need  twice  telling,  and,  having  run  down 
it  with  quite  unusual  agility,  the  point  of  his  sword 
caught  in  the  banister-rails  of  the  staircase,  and  nearly 
broke  his  neck.  He  fell  on  his  nose,  his  sword  having 
broken  in  two  owing  to  the  résistance  it  met  with 
while  he  was  rushing  down.  The  landlord  of  my 
friend,  who  had  already  heard  the  noise  on  the  stairs, 
when  the  second  had  taken  the  trouble  to  make  his 
exit,  came  up  to  see  what  this  fresh  disturbance  might 
b^token,  and  found  the  captain,  who  had  not,  so  to 
speak,  the  courage  to  get  up  again.  Although  he  had 
as  yet  but  received  some  blows  from  the  flat  of  a 
sword,  it  seemed  to  him  every  minute  that  my  friend 
was  going  to  run  him  through,  because  he  had  enjoyed 
following  him,  to  observe  the  state  of  fright  he  was 
reduced  to.  He  consequently  set  up  a  howl  that  he 
was  dead,  and  the  landlord,  being  afraid  that  he  had 
some  sword -thrust  in  his  body,  because  he  noticed 
that  my  friend  was  seeing  him  out,  sword  in  hand, 
placed  himself  in  front  of  him  to  prevent  his  being 
finished  off.  Seeing  this  rampart,  the  captain  seized 
the  opportunity  to  rise,  but,  as  the  end  of  his  sword  was 
in  its  sheath,  and  this  sheath,  which  was  also  broken, 
hanging  between  his  legs,  he  tumbled  down  a  second 
time,  which  strangely  alarmed  the  landlord .  This  second 
fall  broke  his  nose,  and  the  blood  at  once  running 
down  his  face,  he  immediately  believed,  not  only  (as 
he  had  already  done)  that  he  was  wounded,  but  further, 
that  his  hurt  was  mortal,  since  he  had  not  been  able 
to  take  two  steps  without  falling  down  afresh.  The 
fear  the  landlord  was  in  of  his  dying  in  his  house,  and 
that  a  guard  would  at  once  be  placed  there,  as  usually 

16 — 2 


244  MEMOÎRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

happens  in  such  a  case,  made  him  immediately  call 
out  to  his  wife  to  quickly  send  for  some  chairmen,  so 
as  to  put  the  captain  in  a  sedan-chair.  There  was 
a  stand  of  chairmen  at  the  corner  of  the  street,  so,  the 
chair  having  not  been  long  in  arriving,  the  captain, 
vvho  had  his  handkerchief  to  his  nose,  was  placed  in- 
side.  So  confused  was  he  as  to  not  say  one  word. 
Nevertheless,  as  fear  still  overcame  him,  he  was  as 
pale  as  a  freshly  disinterred  corpse.  His  silence  and 
gênerai  condition,  therefore,  made  the  landlord  more 
and  more  certain  that  his  end  was  not  far  off,  and 
fearing  the  results  of  such  an  affair,  he  told  my  friend 
that,  to  guarantee  him  against  the  effects  of  this 
assassination,  and  also  for  his  own  safety,  he  should 
take  the  necessary  légal  steps.  My  friend,  who  knew 
that  his  sword  had  not  been  nearer  than  half  a  foot  to 
the  captain's  body,  clearly  perceived  that  it  was  fear 
which  made  him  speak  thus.  He  was  eager  to  cure 
him  of  it,  and  having  replied  that  he  should  calm  his 
fears,  since  ail  the  blood  which  had  been  spilt  could  be 
but  the  resuit  of  the  hurt  the  captain  had  sustained 
from  his  fall,  the  landlord's  spirits  began  to  revive. 
My  friend  even  gave  him  a  description  of  what  had 
happened,  so  as  to  further  reassure  him.  The  land- 
lord enjoyed  this  account  by  reason  of  the  interest  he 
took  in  the  whole  affair.  Nevertheless,  as  he  was  a 
sensible  enough  man,  and  from  a  province  besides, 
where  people  understand  légal  quibbles  to  the  tips  of 
their  fingers  from  their  cradle  up,  he  told  my  friend 
that,  though  there  was  no  one  killed  nor  even  wounded, 
he  must  not,  ail  the  same,  fail  to  take  the  proper  steps. 
The  more  cowardly  the  man  he  had  to  deal  with,  the 
more  iikely  he  would  be  to  serve  him  some  other  dirty 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  245 

turn.  The  trick  he  had  tried  to  play  him  in  the  Bois 
de  Boulogne  was  a  spécimen  of  his  methods.  He 
should  be  careful,  and,  added  he,  there  was  no  better 
pièce  of  advice  than  this  that  could  possibly  be  given 
him. 

I  do  not  know  for  what  reason  my  friend  had  wasted 
his  time  in  describing  to  this  man  that  we  had  wanted 
to  fight,  and,  in  addition,  that  we  had  taken  horse 
expressly  for  this  purpose.  As  for  myself,  I  should 
hâve  behaved  differently,  had  I  been  in  his  place  ;  but, 
as  he  was  hasty,  and  as  vivacity  has  the  bad  quality  of 
very  often  making  people  do  things  thoughtlessly,  he 
had,  no  doubt,  begun  his  story  without  having  thought 
over  the  matter  in  any  way  whatever.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  not  despising  such  a  warning  as  this,  he  resolved 
to  follow  it,  after  having  asked  my  opinion.  I  disliked 
everything  which  goes  by  the  name  of  légal  proceedings, 
good  and  bad  alike,  a  circumstance  which  usually 
inspired  me  with  much  aversion  for  everything  which 
tended  in  such  a  direction.  But  the  captain's  be- 
haviour  showing  me  that  more  careful  précautions 
should  be  taken  in  respect  to  him  than  with  other 
people,  I  agreed  to  ail  my  friend  wished  to  do.  We 
sent  to  find  a  commissaire,  and,  having  lodged  our 
complaint,  setting  forth  that  this  captain,  in  company 
with  one  of  his  friends,  had  come  to  challenge  us,  the 
landlord,  who  was  from  a  district  where  no  law-suit 
has  ever  been  lost  for  want  of  false  witnesses,  confirmed 
our  statement  by  his  évidence.  In  spite  of  this,  he 
knew  nothing  except  what  my  friend  had  told  him  ; 
but,  as  he  would  hâve  belied  his  birth-place,  if  he  had 
testified  only  what  he  knew,  he  did  not  trouble  himself 
with  such  a  détail.     He  did  far  more,  being  afraid  that 


246  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

what  he  had  said  would  not  suffice  ;  he  further  furnished 
us  with  two  other  witnesses,  who  were  from  the  same 
part  of  the  country  and  were  no  more  scrupulous  than 
himself.  They  declared  that  they  had  been  at  his 
house  when  this  challenge  vvas  made,  and,  having 
testified  to  our  unwillingness  to  accept  it,  they  signed 
their  évidence  just  in  the  same  way  as  if  it  had 
contained  only  what  was  true. 

The  captain  was  not  from  the  same  province  as 
thèse  people  ;  whereas  they  were  from  the  city  of 
Mans,  he  was  from  Montpellier,  but,  as  cowards  such 
as  he  always  take  crooked  paths,  he  was  no  sooner 
outside  my  friend's  lodgings  than  he  deliberated  how 
he  might  avenge  the  insuit  he  had  just  received.  At 
first,  this  seemed  to  him  difficult  enough,  because  he 
had  himself  gone  to  court  his  misfortunes,  and  there 
was  a  likelihood  that  he  would,  without  fail,  be  asked 
what  he  had  come  to  do  there.  Nevertheless,  mali- 
ciousness  possessing  this  especial  quality,  that  it  soon 
smoothes  away  ail  difBculties  wbich  may  lie  in  its  path, 
he  for  his  part  betook  himself  to  a  commissionaire, 
with  whom  he  lodged  the  following  dépositions  : — 
"  Having  found  in  the  sum  of  money  which  I  had 
returned  to  him  some  false  pièces,  and  ones  which 
had  not  been  among  those  he  had  given  me,  he  had 
gone  to  find  me  at  my  house  to  return  them.  Not 
wishing,  however,  to  go  there  quite  alone,  on  account 
of  his  having  caused  me  to  appear  before  MM.  les 
Maréchaux  de  France,  he  had  begged  one  of  his  friends 
to  accompany  him.  They  had  not  found  me  at  home, 
and,  discovering  that  I  had  gone  to  my  friend's  house, 
they  had  both  proceeded  to  look  for  me  there,  but  not 
only  had  I  had  evil  conscience  enough  to  deny  that 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  247 

I  had  ever  given  him  the  money  in  question,  but, 
further,  the  boldness  to  insuit  him  in  my  friend's 
room.  My  friend  himself  had  done  just  the  same 
thing  to  please  me,  so  much  so  that,  having  snatched 
up  his  pistols,  he  would  certainly  hâve  killed  him,  had 
he  not  attempted  to  escape.  For  this  purpose  he  had 
thought  it  best  to  make  for  the  stairs,  but,  before 
reaching  the  bottom,  my  friend  had  called  out  to  his 
servants  to  lay  hands  upon  him  and  to  break  his 
sword.  Three  or  four  of  them  had  assaulted  him  with 
their  sticks  and  any  other  arms  which  had  been  first  to 
hand.  He  had  received  several  blows,  and  his  sv^^ord 
had  been  broken  in  its  scabbard." 

As  he  had  hurt  himself  in  the  fall,  the  blows  he 
spoke  of  seemed  real  enough  to  the  commissaire,  but 
ail  the  same,  as  the  most  necessary  thing  of  ail  was 
lacking — which  was  to  hâve  witnesses — this  captain 
had  the  landlord  sounded,  to  find  out  whether  he 
would  not  be  inclined,  in  considération  of  a  certain 
sum,  to  do  a  portion  of  what  he  wanted.  The  land- 
lord might,  perhaps,  hâve  been  the  man  for  him,  had 
he  set  about  bribing  him  earlier  in  the  day,  but,  after 
having  testified  against  him  as  he  had  just  done,  he 
did  not  think  he  could  carry  out  his  wishes  with  any 
safety  as  regards  his  own  conscience,  or,  rather,  his 
own  person. 

He  let  us  know  of  the  proposai  made  him,  so  that 
we  might  be  grateful  to  him  for  his  fidelity.  Notwith- 
standing  this,  we  did  not  value  it  very  much  more, 
for,  though  we  were  obliged  to  him  for  having  done 
what  we  wanted,  as  false  witnesses  are  held  in  no 
esteem  (although  they  are  occasionally  employed),  this 
seemed  as  a  proof  that,  very  far  from  repenting  of  his 


348  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

behaviour,  he  was  further  ready  to  stick  to  his  évidence 
like  grim  death. 

The  captain,  perceiving  that  he  could  find  no 
witnesses,  and  that  his  déclarations  would,  in  con- 
séquence, vanish  into  thin  air,  adopted  the  course 
of  setting  out  for  his  own  province,  to  there  go  and 
conceal  his  infamy.  He  no  longer  thought  of  entering 
the  Guards,  in  which  corps  there  was  reason  for 
thinking  I  should  not  give  him  too  good  a  réputation, 
as  long  as  I  continued  to  serve.  Meanwhile,  it  only 
lay  with  my  friend  and  myself  to  press  him  terribly, 
and  we  were  strongly  urged  to  take  this  course  by  the 
commissaire  who  had  taken  our  dépositions.  As  he 
resembled  the  surgeons,  who  cry  out  only  for  wounds 
and  bumps,  he  came  himself  to  find  us,  to  enquire  if 
we  would  allow  our  proceedings  to  remain  where  they 
were.  He  pointed  out  that  we  ought  not  to  stop  after 
making  such  a  good  start,  for,  had  the  captain  the 
same  hold  over  us  as  we  had  over  him,  he  would  not 
let  it  slip  through  his  fingers.  Apparently,  he  had 
heard  speak  of  the  déclaration  which  he  had  caused  to 
be  drawn  up,  and  he  tried  to  irritate  us  by  mentioning 
it,  but,  as  what  we  had  done  had  been  only  to  guard 
against  his  maliciousness,  and,  as  we  had  been  fairly 
successful,  since  we  had  obliged  him  to  decamp,  we 
did  not  think  fit  to  give  this  blood-sucker  a  chance  of 
exercising  his  calling. 

After  the  events  I  hâve  described,  I  went  to  thank 
M.  le  Cardinal  for  what  he  had  done  for  me.  He 
declared  that  I  had  not  been  deserving  of  his  goodness. 
I  had  wanted  to  leave  him  without  letting  him  hâve  a 
single  Word.  My  reply  was,  that  he  did  not  then 
remember   that  I   had  before   spoken  to   him   on  the 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  249 

subject,  and  begged  him  to  refresh  his  memory.  He 
rejoined  that  he  pcrfectly  recoUected  everything  which 
had  passed  on  that  head,  but  that,  as  he  had  since 
spoken  to  me,  and  as  my  last  exploit  was  a  novelty 
which  I  could  not  excuse,  the  best  thing  I  could  do 
was  to  make  no  further  mention  of  the  matter.  His 
liking  for  me  was  greater  than  I  thought,  and  he  would 
give  me  proof  of  this  before  long.  He  had  already 
spoken  in  this  strain,  so,  after  that,  though  he  appeared 
on  this  occasion  to  be  doing  so  more  sincerely  than 
ever,  I  was  not  sure  whether  I  ought  to  repose  any 
more  trust  in  his  words.  Time  alone,  however,  being 
the  only  thing  which  could  instruct  me  as  to  this,  I 
left  matters  to  him  without  troubling  any  more  about 
them. 

At  that  time  he  was  in  fairly  high  spirits.  He  had 
iust  retaken  Mouson  and  St.  Menehout,  and,  though 
we  had  lost  Rocroi,  he  hoped  to  recapture  it  without 
striking  a  blow.  His  ideas  about  this  were  based  on 
the  opinion  he  had  once  expressed  to  me,  that  the 
French  were  greater  slaves  to  money  than  ail  the 
other  nations  of  Europe.  There  had,  indeed,  been 
some  truth  in  such  a  statement  of  late,  either  because 
we  had  been  taking  lessons  from  him,  as  I  hâve  before 
said,  or  because  there  is  no  people  which  is  not  eventu- 
ally  corrupted,  when  one  takes  to  tempt  them  by  their 
own  gain.  His  Eminence  had  tried  this  not  long  ago, 
that  is  to  say,  when  it  was  a  question  of  making  the 
cities  of  Paris  and  Bordeaux  return  to  their  duty.  The 
Cardinal  de  Retz  had  facilitated  the  surrender  of  the 
one  on  account  of  obtaining  a  Cardinal's  hat,  and  the 
promise  of  some  money  to  help  him  pay  his  debts. 
It  is  true  that  he  had  ulterior  objects  in  view,  having 


250  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

flattered  himself  that  he  might  himself  become  Prime 
Minister,  but,  as  he  had  thought  of  this  only  as  a  last 
resource,  it  was  clear  that,  by  his  conduct,  he  had  in 
no  way  falsified  the  opinion  which  Cardinal  Mazarin 
held  regarding  the  whole  of  our  nation. 

The  same  thing  applied  to  the  Prince  de  Conti; 
though  the  désire  of  exchanging  his  priest's  robe  for  a 
wife  had  much  contributed  to  his  going  over  to  his 
brother,  there  is  much  the  same  HkeHhood  that  he 
would  hâve  held  out  more  firmly,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  splendid  promises  made  to  him.  Meantime,  he 
awaited  their  fulfilment  at  Cadillac  without  seeing  the 
least  appearance  of  its  taking  place.  The  Cardinal 
cunningly  threw  difficulties  in  the  way,  so  as  to  man- 
age  to  marry  off  another  of  his  nièces  at  the  expense 
of  the  one  promised  to  the  Prince  de  Conti.  Prince 
Thomas,  who  had  married  the  sister  of  the  late  Comte 
de  Soissons,  had  suggested  his  son  to  his  Eminence  as 
a  husband,  stipulating  that  he  should  be  given  back 
the  post  of  grand  master  of  the  King's  household, 
which  he  maintained  belonged  to  his  wife.  It  had 
been  given  to  the  Prince  de  Condé,  the  father  of 
the  duc,  and  the  rébellion  of  the  présent  prince  seemed 
to  serve  as  a  pretext  for  its  return.  The  young  Comte 
de  Soissons  appeared  an  acceptable  enough  suitor  to 
the  Cardinal,  so  he  continued  to  trifle  with  the  Prince 
de  Conti,  thinking  that,  once  he  should  hâve  married 
La  Martinôzi,  he  would  find  means  to  appease  any 
irritation  he  might  feel  !  Be  this  as  it  may,  having 
made  himself  master  of  Paris  and  Bordeaux,  he 
thought  he  could  do  the  same  thing  with  Rocroi, 
which  was  nothing  in  comparison  with  thèse  two 
towns. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  251 

What  further  raised  his  hopes  was,  that  its  com- 
mander, Montai  by  name,  was  but  a  poor  gentleman 
who  had  not  a  thousand  crowns  in  the  world;  so,  as 
princes  of  the  blood  and  of  the  house  of  Savoy  were 
governed  by  self-interest,  his  Eminence  did  not  imagine 
that  such  an  insignificant  personage  would  resist  their 
example.  The  puzzling  thing  was,  through  whom  and 
how  to  make  proposais  to  him.  There  was  no  one 
who  could  be  trusted  in  the  vicinity  of  Rocroi.  The 
governors  of  Mézières,  of  Charleville  and  also  of  Rhetel, 
the  three  nearest  towns,  were  to  be  regarded  with  great 
suspicion.  To  employ  Fabert  would  hâve  aroused 
attention,  and  besides,  he  and  Montai  were  none  too 
friendly. 

I  chanced  to  présent  myself  before  the  Cardinal  one 
day  that  he  had  been  pondering  over  this  matter,  and, 
observing  his  pre-occupation,  told  him  that  I  was  very 
unhappy  at  his  not  entrusting  me  with  some  mission  of 
importance,  by  which  I  could  prove  my  dévotion.  This 
speech  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  confiding  in  me, 
and  he  spoke  of  his  plan  and  the  obstacles  to  its 
accomplishment.  In  reply,  I  declared  that  it  appeared 
to  me  that  he  was  worrying  himself  over  a  small 
matter,  and,  if  he  would  send  me  as  part  of  the  gar- 
rison  of  Rhetel,  with  three  or  four  companies  of  our 
régiment,  I  would  soon  see  what  stuff  this  Montai  was 
made  of.  His  Eminence  answered  that  there  were 
many  difficulties  in  the  way  ;  Montai  was  somewhat 
scrupulous,  and  besides,  M.  le  Prince  had  spies  every- 
where,  who  informed  him  of  ail  that  took  place.  He 
was  right  as  to  this  ;  many  of  the  King's  oflicers  were 
in  communication  with  the  Prince  de  Condé,  whom 
they  admired  for  his  great  deeds.     They  only  served 


252  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

the  King  on  account  of  the  pay  they  received,  and 
abominated  the  Cardinal,  whom  they  wished  as  far 
from  the  Court  as  he  was  at  présent  near  it.  Accord- 
ingW,  not  being  able  to  contradict  this  minister,  I  said 
that  I  had  hoped  he  would  hâve  had  a  sufficiently  good 
opinion  of  me  to  hâve  beheved  that  I  should  carry  out 
such  a  mission  with  the  discrétion  and  diplomacy  it 
required,  and  added  that  it  would  be  through  no  fault 
of  my  own  were  I  to  fail.  He  listened  attentively,  and, 
being  well  pleased  at  my  talking  in  this  way,  told  me 
that  there  was  some  sensé  in  my  words,  provided  I 
could  find  means  to  satisfy  him  as  to  another  objection 
which  he  could  not  help  raising.  I  was  well  aware 
that  captains  in  the  Guards  did  not  like  to  be  sent  to 
do  garrison  duty.  Perhaps  I  remembered  that  there 
had  been  nothing  but  complaints  from  a  battalion  of 
that  régiment,  which  had  been  sent  to  Sedan  by  the 
King's  orders.  The  offiicers  had  written  to  him  some- 
times  even  as  many  as  two  or  three  letters  in  one 
single  day,  so,  had  thèse  letters  been  sent  to  a  poor 
man  and  he  had  had  to  hâve  paid  the  postage,  more 
would  not  hâve  been  needed  to  ruin  him. 

I  deemed  this  expression  more  worthy  of  the  Cardinal 
than  dignified  in  its  tone.  But,  as  this  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  matter  now  under  discussion,  I  rejoined 
that  I  had  not  meant  that  a  whole  battalion  should  be 
sent  to  Rhetel,  though  it  was  for  his  Eminence  to  judge 
if  the  service  of  the  King  required  it.  One  or  two 
companies  would  be  enough,  and  the  captains  might 
be  excused  from  going  ;  indeed,  this  was  necessary  to 
the  success  of  my  plan.  The  company  of  which  I  was 
lieutenant  should  be  one  of  the  two  sent,  and  the 
lieutenant  of  the  other  one  should  be  my  junior,  so 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  253 

that  I  might  hold  the  suprême  command,  and  thus  meet 
with  no  obstacles  to  my  schéma.  His  Eminence 
replied  that  ail  this  was  very  complicated,  and  that  he 
knew  a  shorter  way.  The  King  should  give  me  one  of 
thèse  two  companies,  and  the  other  would  hâve  no 
captain,  or  rather,  he  should  be  absent.  He  should  be 
either  governor  of  some  fortress,  or  hâve  something 
else  to  do.  Accordingly,  I  should,  in  the  natural  course 
of  events,  be  in  command,  and  there  would  be  no  need 
for  so  much  mystery. 

I  did  not  feel  at  ease  on  hearing  him  speak  thus. 
He  really  intended  this  time  to  make  me  a  captain  in 
the  Guards,  and,  as  human  prudence  is  nothing  in 
comparison  with  what  men  of  the  world  call  luck,  and 
what  wise  and  pious  men  term  Providence,  he  had 
formed  this  résolve  for  a  reason  which  was  much  more 
calculated  to  hurt  than  to  serve  me.  Owing  to  my 
affair  with  the  captain  of  the  régiment  of  Rambures, 
his  Eminence,  whilst  becoming  aware  of  the  bad  state 
of  my  finances,  had  at  the  same  time  learnt  that  it 
had  taken  me  but  an  hour  at  most  to  obtain  the  money 
I  lacked  to  make  up  the  sum  for  which  I  was  in  debt, 
and,  accordingly,  he  had  an  idea  that,  were  he  to 
bestow  this  pn^st  upon  me,  I  should  find  money  to  pay 
him  a  fine  just  as  easily  as  on  the  previous  occasion. 
This  is  why  he  determined  to  do  justice  to  my  merits. 
I  was  accordingly  made  a  captain  in  the  Guards,  with- 
out  his  having  told  me  his  secret,  but,  two  days  later, 
I  received  a  letter  from  M.  de  Bartillac,  the  Queen's 
Treasurer,  in  which  he  informed  me  that  he  had  orders 
from  M.  le  Cardinal  to  let  me  know  that  I  must  bring 
him  twenty  thousand  francs  in  twice  twenty-four  hours. 
Such  news  came  as  an  extraordinary  wet  blanket  upon 


254  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

me.  Ail  my  friends  had  corne  to  congratulate  me  on 
my  promotion  to  this  post.  It  had  been  given  me 
without  M.  le  Cardinal  or  anyone  belonging  to  him 
having  mentioned  a  word  as  to  the  money  which  I 
was  now  asked  to  pay.  Ail  I  had  known  was,  that 
I  was  to  give  up  my  lieutenancy  to  him  for  him  to 
dispose  of  to  whomever  he  liked.  I  would  even  hâve 
assisted  his  Eminence  to  sell  it  advantageously,  so 
grateful  was  I  for  what  he  had  done.  But  his  présent 
demands  altering  ail  this,  I  went  to  iind  him,  to  point 
out  my  inability  to  produce  the  first  sou  of  this  sum  of 
money.  The  Cardinal  answered  me  that  it  was  not 
for  himself  that  the  money  was  wanted.  The  needs  of 
the  State  required  that  one  should  draw  some  help 
from  the  posts  which  chanced  to  fall  vacant.  I  was 
wrong  to  complain  of  the  very  moderate  sum  demanded. 
The  custom  was  to  always  pay  half  the  just  value  of 
the  post  one  received.  A  company  in  the  Guards  was 
worth  forty  thousand  crowns,  so  sixty  thousand  livres 
might  hâve  been  demanded,  and  to  ask  me  for  but 
twenty  thousand  was  treating  me  so  gently  that  I 
ought  not  to  appeal  against  it. 

It  is  true  that  the  Cardinal's  plan  had  for  some 
time  been  to  make  people  pay  about  the  half  of  the 
value  of  any  post  they  received  or  thereabouts.  Never- 
theless,  though  he  wanted  me  to  be  so  grateful,  I  did 
not  perceive  that  he  was  treating  me  more  favourably 
than  others.  My  old  post,  which  was  his  to  sell,  and 
the  twenty  thousand  francs  which  he  now  asked  for 
were  about  the  half  of  what  my  présent  one  might  be 
worth.  I  did  not  fail  to  tell  him  this,  for,  if  one  did 
not  dare  to  answer  him  back,  he  would  willingly  hâve 
trampled  upon  one's  body.     He  then  asked  me  a  nice 


MEMOIRS   OF    D'ARTAGNAN  255 

thing,  to  wit,  what  my  lieutenancy  had  cost,  and  if  I 
had  ever  given  much  money  for  it  ?  I  replied  no,  and 
that  it  had  been  given  me  for  nothing,  upon  which  he 
retorted  that  I  must  not  then  say  that  I  was  not  better 
treated  than  anyone  else,  since  it  cost  others  at  least 
twenty  thousand  crowns  to  obtain,  and  myself  but 
twenty  thousand  francs  !  He  added  that  I  should  not 
make  myself  very  ill  by  giving  that  sum,  and  I  must 
not  say  that  I  could  not  find  it,  for  I  had  found  another 
in  a  minute,  when  such  a  thing  had  not  been  necessary. 
I  should  hâve  argued  a  long  time  with  him,  had 
he  been  willing  to  let  me,  but,  having  left  me  quite 
alone  without  saying  anything  more,  Debor  came  up  to 
me  and  asked  me  w^hat  v^^as  the  cause  which  made 
me  so  sad,  that  my  face  itself  showed  my  state  of 
mind.  This  was  a  very  ill-timed  speech  of  his,  for 
he  knew  the  reason  just  as  well  as  myself.  The  fact 
was  that  he  had  been  sent  by  M.  le  Cardinal  to  find 
out  exactly  when  I  was  going  to  pay  the  twenty 
thousand  francs,  and  he  had  specially  selected  Debor, 
with  whom  at  one  time  I  had  been  friendly  enough,  to 
make  thèse  enquiries.  However,  as  it  is  not  a  good 
thing  to  be  too  clever,  especially  with  people  who 
know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves,  his  Eminence 
gained  so  little  thereby,  that  he  was  no  wiser  than 
before.  Nevertheless,  either  firom  the  instigation  of 
the  minister,  as  I  believe,  or  from  the  good-will  of  cer- 
tain persons,  I  received  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours 
five  notes  setting  forth  that  I  had  but  to  speak,  and  the 
sum  in  question  would  be  at  my  service.  There  were 
four  of  them,  which  were,  one  from  M.  de  la  Basinière, 
paymaster  of  the  treasury,  one  from  M.  de  Lionne,  one 
from  M.  de  Servient,  and  yet  another  from  M.  Hervart. 


256  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

Thèse  were  four  good  enough  purses  to  draw  upon, 
except  that  of  M.  de  Lionne,  who  was  none  too  rich, 
but,  as  ail  the  four  were  on  terms  of  the  greatest  in- 
timacy  with  the  Cardinal,  I  thought  that  it  was  he  who 
had  set  them  to  work,  and  nothing  has  ever  been  able 
to  disabuse  me  of  this  idea,  in  which  I  do  not  think  I 
was  wrong,  as  I  leave  everyone  to  judge.  His  inten- 
tion apparently  was  to  at  ail  events  obtain  my  acknow- 
ledgment,  under  the  name  of  him  whom  I  might 
secretly  consent  to  deal  with,  calculating  that  this 
would  always  be  better  than  nothing  at  ail,  especially 
as  I  was  resolved  to  marry,  and  was  more  than  ever  on 
the  way  to  making  a  good  match. 

The  fifth  of  thèse  notes  was  of  quite  a  différent  kind 
from  the  four  others.  It  came  from  a  woman  of  easy 
virtue,  and  she  herself  did  not  deny  this,  which  is  rare 
enough  in  the  présent  century,  when  everyone  wants  to 
pass  for  something  quite  différent  from  what  they  really 
are.  After  having  congratulated  me  on  my  promotion, 
she  informed  me  that  I  knew  her  by  réputation  only, 
a  thing  which  would  not  cause  me  to  think  her  letter 
of  much  account.  There  was  nothing  in  this  world 
like  the  possession  of  wealth.  She  had  even  discovered 
that  it  was  a  necessity,  when  no  more  than  fifteen 
years  of  âge.  This  had  made  her  form  a  résolve  to 
never  die  a  beggar,  and  she  had  succeeded  none  too 
badly.  It  was  true  it  had  cost  her  a  little  kindness  to 
people,  for  whom  at  bottom  she  had  no  great  esteem, 
but  they  had  paid  so  well  for  it  that  she  had  no  regrets. 
Her  income  exceeded  twenty  thousand  livres,  and  it 
was  well  invested  in  Paris,  without  counting  a  quantity 
of  valuable  furniture  and  silver  plate.  She  had  besides 
ten   thousand   silver   crowns   in  ready  money   in   her 


UÊMOIRS    OF    b'ARTAGkAM  i^j 

closet.  Ail  this  was  more  than  sufficient  to  pay  what 
M.  le  Cardinal  was  asking  of  me.  It  would  cost  me 
but  a  yes  before  a  priest,  and  though  she  could  only 
offer  me  the  leavings  of  two  great  financiers,  they  had 
seemed  so  fair  to  a  number  of  people  of  the  Court, 
that  they  had  not  scrupled  to  propose  the  same  bar- 
gain  as  she  was  to-day  suggesting  to  me.  She  sincerely 
owned  that  she  had  a  fancy  for  me,  and  at  the  same 
time  admitted  her  way  of  living  :  so  that,  were  I  to 
take  her  at  her  word,  I  should  not  afterwards  be  in  the 
position  of  a  man  who  could  tell  her  that  she  had 
deceived  him. 

This  note  might  hâve  tempted  a  good  many  people 
more  than  the  four  others.  The  lady  was  very  pretty 
and  was  as  yet  in  the  flower  of  her  âge.  She  was  no 
more  than  twenty-five  years  old,  but,  as  she  had  taken 
to  her  profession  betimes,  as  she  herself  made  no 
scruple  about  saying,  her  réputation  was  so  widespread 
in  Paris,  that  she  was  just  as  well  known  as  the  wife 
of  the  First  Président  might  be.  This  was  the  reason 
that  I  did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  as  to  the  course  I 
should  adopt.  Nevertheless,  being  anxious  to  dis- 
cover  whether  the  fancy  she  had  declared  for  me 
would  not  be  capable  of  making  me  obtain  a  share  in 
her  wealth  without  its  costing  me  the  word  she  asked 
for,  I  told  the  bearer  of  the  note  that  I  would  go  my- 
self  and  give  my  answer  in  the  afternoon.  I  took  care 
not  to  miss  this  appointment,  and,  doing  my  best  to 
not  only  sustain  her  goodwill  towards  myself,  but 
further  increase  it,  so  that  she  might  refuse  me  noth- 
ing,  she  said,  observing  that  I  was  beginning  to  make 
great  professions  of  gratitude  and  love,  that  ail  this 
might  be  well  and  good  with  a  dupe,  but  for  herself  she 

VOL.    II  17 


45&  MEMOÎRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

would  hâve  nothing  to  say  to  it,  without  the  assistance 
of  a  law3'er  and  a  priest.  She  wanted  me  as  a  husband 
and  not  as  a  lover,  and  for  this  reason  she  advised  me, 
as  a  good  friand,  to  put  aside  ail  my  compliments,  unless 
I  at  the  same  time  clothed  them  with  the  forms  she  had 
mentioned.  This answerwas  not  that  ofastupid  woman, 
but,  as  I  thought  myself  as  shrewd  as  she  was  and  hoped 
to  insensibly  lead  her  to  my  point  of  view,  were  she  to 
give  me  a  little  time,  I  replied  that  it  seemed  to  me  a 
good  thing  to  make  one  another's  acquaintance  before 
concluding  the  bargain  she  had  proposed.  Madame 
de  Miramion  had  once  told  me  the  same  thing,  as 
I  think  I  hâve  mentioned,  when  I  had  wanted  to  make 
her  my  wife.^  I  therefore  could  not  fail  to  follow  her 
example,  though  it  was  with  another  end  in  view.  My 
intention  was  to  persuade  her  to  see  me  in  spite  of  ail 
her  shrewdness,  for  I  knew  that,  when  once  a  woman 
has  a  fancy  for  anyone,  he  has  but  to  be  attentive 
to  her  and  murmur  sweet  things  in  her  ear  to  make 
d  good  deal  of  progress  in  a  short  time.  But  she 
was  cleverer  than  I  thought  ;  accordingly,  either  be- 
cause  she  saw  through  my  plan,  or  because  she  had 
formed  the  résolve  of  beginning  where  other  people 
end,  she  rejoined  that  she  had  no  need  to  know  me 
any  better  to  settle  her  course  of  action  ;  as  for  myself, 
she  did  not  know  my  intentions,  but  it  appeared  to  her 
that  ail  I  had  to  wish  for  was  to  be  enlightened  as  to 
whether  she  had  the  property  she  had  informed  me  of, 
or  whether  she  had  not.  If  this  was  the  reason  I 
wanted  to  know  her,  she  thought  it  no  bad  one,  but,  if 
I  had  any  other,  as  it  could  not  but  be  disadvantageous 
to  herself,  I  need  only  not  take  the  trouble  to  corne 
and  see  her  again. 

I  See  Vol.  I.,  p.  416. 


MËMOÎËS  OP  D'AkTACNAM  259 

It  would  not  hâve  been  honourable  for  me  to  make 
use  of  the  pretext,  which  she  herself  was  furnishing  me 
with,  to  carry  out  my  plan.  A  man  always  looks 
awkward  if  he  appears  self-seeking,  especially  on  those 
sort  of  occasions  on  which  it  is  a  question  of  making  a 
favourable  impression.  For  this  reason  people  always 
leave  thèse  kind  of  enquiries  to  their  relatives  or  friends, 
whilst  they  themselves  do  nothing  else  but  make  pro- 
testations of  love,  respect  and  unselfishness.  Being 
therefore  extremely  embarrassed  as  to  what  answer  to 
make,  because,  indeed,  I  saw  nothing  which  I  could 
say  likely  to  content  her,  '*  Ah  !  "  cried  she,  perceiving 
my  discomfiture,  "I  pity  you  for  being  so  sincère; 
you  wish  to  lie  to  me,  but  dare  not  do  so.  This  is 
extraordinary  enough  in  a  courtier,  whom  it  usually 
costs  nothing  to  say  everything  he  has  never  thought 
of.  As  regards  yourself,  however,  I  divine  your 
thoughts  very  well  without  your  being  obliged  to  tell 
them  to  me.  My  property  would  suit  you  admirabl}', 
were  I  willing  to  give  it  you  to  become  your  mistress, 
but  if,  like  me,  you  in  your  turn  also  perceive  what  my 
ideas  are,  you  must  clearly  see  that  you  hâve  no  reason 
ever  to  hope  to  touch  my  fortune,  except  on  the 
conditions  I  hâve  proposed  to  you."  At  the  same 
time,  she  asked  me  what  kind  of  a  woman  I  took 
her  for,  when  I  had  got  it  into  my  head  to  try  and 
get  the  better  of  her?  She  added  that  I  had  not 
thought  over  things  much,  when  I  had  asked  her  for 
time.  M.  le  Cardinal  would  give  me  none,  and  ail  Paris 
knew,  like  herself,  that  I  had  but  twice  twenty-four 
hours  to  find  my  money  in,  and,  therefore,  if  I  wanted 
hers,  I  had  not  a  moment  to  lose. 

Seeing  her  so  clever  and  so  resolute,  I  deemed  that 

17—2 


2êo  MËMOÎRS  OF  Ù'ARTAÙi^An 

I  should  only  be  losing  my  time  by  protracting  my 
dealings  with  her  any  longer.  She  wanted  someone  to 
marry  her,  and  I  was  not  the  man  for  that,  so  I  with- 
drew  in  silence.  Notwithstanding  this,  to  do  everything 
politely,  and  without  giving  her  cause  to  complain  of 
my  behaviour,  instead  of  telling  her  my  reasons  for  not 
being  willing  to  think  of  this  business,  I  told  her  that 
I  would  return  to  see  her  immediately.  I  do  not  know 
whether  she  really  believed  this,  or  whether  she  did 
not  rather  perceive  that  it  was  but  an  excuse.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  keeping  my  word  was  the  last  thing  I  dreamt 
of,  when  I  had  left  her  house.  If  I  was  to  become  one 
of  the  great  confraternity  of  cuckolds,  as  only  happens 
too  often  to  most  of  those  who  marry,  I  was  at  least 
desirous  that  it  should  not  be  with  my  own  knowledge. 
I  deemed  a  thing  like  this  unworthy  of  an  honourable 
man.  I  was  not  of  the  disposition  of  certain  people 
whom  I  see  in  the  world,  snatching  up  their  swords 
and  gloves,  when  theysee  their  wives'  gallants  coming! 
It  is  true  that  I  did  not  believe  this  girl  to  be  of  a 
character  to  cause  scandai,  once  she  should  hâve 
obtained  a  husband  ;  much  rather  did  I  think  that  her 
idea  was  to  live  as  a  respectable  woman.  But  it  was 
enough  for  me  that  she  had  not  lived  in  this  way 
whilst  she  was  unmarried,  to  hâve  no  regrets  for  her 
riches.  Accordingly,  though  I  well  knew  that  I  had 
lost  them,  only  because  I  was  much  more  délicate  in 
my  feelings  than  a  number  of  other  people  would  hâve 
been,  had  they  been  offered  a  chance  of  this  kind,  not 
a  moment  was  necessary  for  me  to  console  myself  in. 


VII 


Y  speech  to  M.  le  Cardinal  was  calculated 
to  make  him  leave  me  in  peace.  Twenty 
thousand  francs  were  to  him  as  a  drop  of 
water  in  the  sea,  so  to  speak;  instead  of 
which,  to  me  it  was  like  Peru  itself.  But, 
he  understood  no  one,  when  his  own  interests 
were  concerned,  hardly  had  the  forty-eight 
hours,  which  he  had  given  me  to  make  my  payment  in, 
elapsed,  when  he  asked  M.  de  Bartillac  if  I  had  taken 
care  to  satisfy  his  demands.  I  think  he  did  this  more 
for  the  sake  of  form,  and  that  he  knew  just  as  well  as 
I  did  what  the  real  state  of  affairs  was.  The  people 
who  had  offered  me  money  had  apparently  let  him 
know  that  I  had  declined  it,  or  I  am  very  much 
deceived.  Bartillac,  who  was  a  good  man  and  a 
benevolent  one,  replied  that  I  had  not  produced  one 
sou,  and  had  contented  myself  with  demonstrating  to 
him  my  inability  to  pay.  I  had  nothing  in  the  world 
but  my  post,  and,  as  no  money  could  be  raised  upon 
that,  he  had  not  pressed  me  to  let  him  lend  me  money. 
It  was  not  true  that  I  had  seen  him  ;  he  merely  told 
the  Cardinal  this  to  assist  me,  and  without  knowing  of 
the  ofîers  of  the  four  people,  or  rather  of  his  Eminence. 


a6a  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

M.  le  Cardinal  shook  his  head  at  hearing  him  speak 
thus,  meaning  to  express  that  he  was  not  at  ail  pleased, 
and  that  I  was  not  so  much  in  want  of  friends  as  he 
thought.  Fearing,  however,  that  M.  de  Bastillac  was 
not  the  man  to  divine  what  he  meant  by  this,  he  pro- 
ceeded  to  tell  him  in  plain  language  that  it  had  but 
rested  with  myself  to  make  this  payment.  This  he 
knew  for  certain.  Several  courtiers  had  corne  to  tell 
him  that  a  man  was  very  lucky  who  received  any 
favour  from  the  Court,  for  ail  the  best  purses  were 
immediately  open  to  him.  Whether  one  had  much 
money  or  none,  friends  immediately  appeared.  Of 
this  I  was  a  good  example, — an  individual  who,  having 
but  a  mantle  and  sword,  had  no  sooner  obtained  a 
Company  in  the  Guards,  than  four  men  of  importance 
wrote  to  lay  their  purses  at  my  service  !  Ail  this 
behaviour  of  mine  but  arose  from  my  disinclination  to 
pay  the  money  !  M.  de  Bartillac  must  therefore  see 
me  again  and  inform  me  that  I  would  be  given  but 
twenty-four  hours  more  to  liquidate  this  debt  in,  and 
were  I  to  fail,  the  King  would  know  what  to  do.  He 
added,  that  I  was  to  be  told  that  I  had  only  to  accept 
the  money  which  had  been  placed  at  my  service. 
This  would  much  surprise  me,  for  I  might  not  perhaps 
as  yet  be  aware  of  his  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on. 
This  speech  of  his  Eminence,  which  M.  de  Bartillac 
repeated  to  me  word  for  word,  thoroughly  confirmed  me 
in  my  idea,  that  it  was  the  Cardinal  who  had  procured 
me  so  many  friends,  who  on  another  occasion  might 
perhaps  hâve  been  behindhand.  Perceiving  eventually 
no  way  out  of  ail  this,  I  resolved  to  go  and  see  M.  de 
la  Basinière,  who  was  one  of  my  friends.  I  preferred 
him  as  a  lender  to  the  three  others,  because  I  knew, 


MEMOIRS   OF    D'ARTAGNAN  263 

whether  it  was  his  ovvn  money  or  the  Cardinal's,  he 
would  not  be  a  hard  créditer  to  deal  with.  I  had 
noticed  that,  though  an  extremely  selfish  man,  as  are 
nearly  ail  financiers,  he  had  besides  a  greater  weakness 
than  that.  He  loved  flattery  to  an  incredible  degree, 
so,  as  it  would  cost  me  nothing  to  bestow  this  upon 
him,  I  determined  to  in  this  way  pay  him  the 
interest  on  the  sum  I  was  going  to  borrow.  Fool- 
ishly  enough,  I  believed  that  this  would  content 
him,  and  my  reason  was  that  I  had  seen  numbers 
of  people  at  his  table,  who  paid  him  in  no  other 
coin.  I  reached  his  house  before  dinner,  and,  as 
his  conceit  led  him  to  take  pleasure  in  letting  every 
sort  of  person  see  him  eat,  he  at  once  told  me  that  one 
knew  one's  friends  by  the  trouble  they  took  to  corne 
and  keep  one  company  at  supper.  I  replied  that  this 
was  partly  the  reason  of  my  coming,  but  that  there 
was  yet  another  ;  the  fact  was,  the  Cardinal  had  shown 
himself  a  regular  Turk  with  respect  to  myself,  and  so, 
being  obliged  to  change  my  mind,  I  had  come  to  beg 
him  to  let  me  hâve  the  money  I  had  before  refused. 
M.  de  la  Basinière  very  obligingly  replied  that  his 
purse  was  at  my  disposai  now,  just  as  it  had  been 
before,  and  the  twenty  thousand  francs  should  be 
counted  out  to  me  after  dinner.  He  added  that 
he  was  much  flattered  at  my  preferring  him  to 
MM.  Servient,  De  Lionne  and  Hervart,  who  he 
knew  had  written  to  me  on  the  same  subject,  the 
moment  they  had  known  my  need.  I  was  indeed 
doing  him  justice  in  deeming  that  he  was  much  more 
my  friend  than  any  of  thèse  gentlemen. 

This  speech  would  hâve  further  confirmed  me  in  my 
idea,  that  ail  thèse  four  men  had  done  had  only  been 


a64  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

by  the  orders  of  M.  le  Cardinal,  if  I  had  really  had  the 
slightest  doubts  on  the  subject.  However,  as  my  mind 
was  made  up,  it  made  no  différence  to  me  whatever. 
Nevertheless,  chancing  to  mention  to  M.  de  la 
Basinière  (without  having  any  idea  that  it  could  any- 
way  affect  me)  that  neither  he  nor  the  other  three 
gentlemen  had  been  the  only  people  who  had  ofïered 
me  money,  he  pressed  me  so  much  to  explain  myself, 
that  I  did  not  think  I  ought  to  make  any  further  secret 
of  the  matter.  I  told  him  frankly  of  the  offers  of  the 
woman,  and  informing  him  at  the  same  time  that  I 
should  not  hâve  scrupled  to  accept  them,  had  she  not 
insisted  upon  some  conditions  which  were  too  severe 
for  me  to  accept,  I  had  no  need  to  say  more  for  him  to 
at  once  guess  what  thèse  conditions  were.  On  my 
admitting  the  truth  of  his  surmises,  he  at  once  said 
that,  now  I  had  told  him  this,  he  would  hâve  some- 
thing  to  say  to  me  directly  we  had  dined.  He  would 
indeed  hâve  spoken  at  once,  so  eager  did  I  perceive 
him  to  become,  had  not  dinner  been  announced,  and 
a  great  company  of  people  been  awaiting  him.  We 
were  then  in  his  study,  and,  having  both  entered  the 
dining-hall,  we  sat  down  to  table  and  indulged  in  such 
good  cheer  that,  had  one  been  at  the  King's,  one  could 
not  hâve  been  any  better  served  than  we  were.  A 
quantity  of  subjects  were  discussed,  and  amongst 
others,  the  exploits  of  Montai,  who  was  beginning  to 
make  a  great  stir  throughout  the  whole  of  Champagne. 
It  was  Hervart  who  opened  this  conversation,  and,  as 
he  was  entirely  devoted  to  the  Cardinal,  a  thought 
flashed  across  my  mind,  which  perhaps  may  hâve  been 
false  or  may  hâve  been  true.  I  conceived  an  idea  that 
the  Cardinal  had  confided  to  him  that  I  was  to  go  to 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  265 

Rhetel  and  had  bidden  him  speak  of  this  governor,  so 
as  to  discover  whether  I  was  likely  to  embark  in  some 
indiscrétion,  and  be  communicative  from  a  too  great 
désire  to  show  my  importance. 

An  idea  such  as  this  was  more  than  enough  to  make 
me  cautions,  even  had  I  been  a  great  talker,  which, 
thanks  be  to  God,  I  was  very  far  from  being.  I  had 
learnt  from  my  father,  whilst  in  the  cradle,  that  one 
never  repented  of  having  kept  silence  and  that,  on 
the  contrary,  one  nearly  always  repented  of  having 
broken  it.  For  this  reason,  nothing  was  wont  to 
escape  my  lips  without  my  having  first  of  ail  weighed 
it  well,  a  fact  which  had  sometimes  made  my 
friends  say,  when  they  saw  me  so  reserved,  that  I 
should  hâve  suited  the  ancient  times,  when  there 
was  a  temple  of  idols,  for  I  should  hâve  not  done 
badly  in  the  way  of  speaking  as  an  oracle.  Hervart 
was  very  much  surprised  to  see  me  so  reserved,  either 
because  he  really  had  orders  to  make  me  speak,  or 
because  the  subject  under  discussion  was  more  one 
for  a  military  man  than  for  business  people,  which 
most  of  the  company  were.  It  seemed  quite  odd  that 
I  should  hold  my  peace,  whilst  others  let  themselves 
go,  without  knowing  whether  what  they  said  was  sensé 
or  not. 

Dinner  being  over,  M.  de  la  Basinière,  who,  after 
the  fashion  of  the  Court,  affected  to  be  on  familiar 
terms  with  ail  who  came  to  see  him,  proceeded  to 
say  that  he  had  something  to  tell  me  and  we  should 
return  to  his  study.  I  believed  this  was  in  order  to 
give  me  the  money,  or,  at  least,  an  order  to  receive  it 
from  one  of  his  clerks.  However,  after  he  had  again 
made  me  repeat  the  offers  which  the  woman  had  made 


266  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

me,  he  declared  that  he  was  too  much  my  friend  not 
to  blâme  me  for  having  refused  them.  Accordingly, 
so  as  to  oblige  me  to  return  to  her  and  thereby  cause 
me  to  recover  a  fortune,  he  no  longer  had  any  money 
to  lend  me.  Notwithstanding  this,  he  intended  to 
demonstrate  by  such  a  refusai  that  he  was  a  thousand 
limes  more  my  benefactor  than  if,  by  misplaced  kind- 
ness,  he  was  to  make  me  master  of  ail  the  wealth  which 
was  at  his  disposai.  What  he  would  do  for  me 
besides,  was  to  mention  this  matter  to  M.  le  Cardinal, 
so  that,  in  place  of  the  twenty-four  hours  he  had  given 
me  to  produce  my  money,  he  might  accord  me  just  as 
much  time  as  would  be  necessary  for  me  to  complète  the 
marriage  which  was  proposed  to  me. 

The  person  surprised  was  myself,  when  I  heard  him 
talking  in  this  way.  I  retorted  that  surely  he  did  not 
think  of  wishing  me  to  marry  a  prostitute.  I  called  a 
spade  a  spade,  being  thoroughly  angry  at  his  having 
dared  to  propose  such  an  infamy.  M.  de  la  Basinière 
burst  out  laughing  at  my  reply,  at  once  rejoining  that 
I  might  perhaps  marry  one  who,  very  far  from  enrich- 
ing  me  as  this  one  would  do,  might  be  just  as  much  a 
beggar  as  myself.  He  asked  my  pardon  for  his  blunt- 
ness,  but,  in  short,  one  ought  to  speak  frankly  to  one's 
friends,  for  to  flatter  them  was  not  giving  proof  of 
being  really  what  one  said  one  was.  He  told  me, 
besides,  much  more  of  exactly  the  same  nature, 
so  much  so  that,  hardly  knowing  whether  I  was 
dreaming  or  awake  (so  much  did  his  words  surprise 
me),  I  eventually  told  him  that,  if  he  wished  me  to 
believe  that  he  was  one  of  my  friends,  as  he  was 
taking  pains  to  make  me  think,  I  would  beg  him  to 
give  me  better  advice  than  that.     Everything  which 


MEMOIRS    OF  D'ARTAGNAN  267 

tended  to  impair  my  honour  could  only  arise  from  an 
evil  source,  or,  at  least,  from  people  who  did  not  care 
about  making  me  lose  ail  which  I  held  most  dear.  I 
was  about  to  tell  him  a  good  deal  more,  so  moved  was 
I,  when  he  interrupted  without  letting  me  say  anything 
further.  He  said  that  he  clearly  perceived  that  my 
case  was  like  that  of  those  people  who  had  to  be 
bound,  to  hâve  an  arm  or  leg  eut  off,  when  necessity 
required  it  ;  so,  as  I  was  like  them  in  wanting  to  ruin 
myself  despite  my  friends'  advice,  I  must  be  treated  in 
exactly  the  same  way.  Binding  not  being  requisite,  as 
there  was  no  question  of  amputating  an  arm  or  a 
leg  to  save  the  rest  of  the  body,  my  hands  must  yet 
be  tied  so  tightly,  that  I  should  be  forced  to  do  what 
reason  and  my  prosperity  demanded.  A  chance  was 
before  me  of  attaining  a  comfortable  position,  and  it 
must  not  be  missed  by  any  foolish  tenderness  for  my 
feelings.  He  reiterated  that  he  no  longer  had  any 
money  to  extricate  me  from  my  difficulty,  for  it  would 
not  be  acting  the  part  of  a  friend  to  waver  on  an 
occasion  like  this.  I  might  obtain  what  I  wanted 
from  the  purse  of  the  woman  who  offered  it,  if  I  chose, 
and  not  hâve  to  return  it.  This  was  the  best  advice 
he  could  give  me.  To  this  he  added  that,  should  I 
deem  his  words  a  little  rough,  a  time  would  come 
when,  very  far  from  entertaining  such  a  thought,  I 
should  praise  him  and  bless  him  for  having  forced 
me  against  my  own  will  to  choose  the  course  of  action 
which  was  best  for  me. 

This  is  ail  the  answer  I  could  obtain  from  him  ;  so, 
being  quite  shocked  at  his  behaviour,  I  could  not  help 
saying  that  I  had  up  to  this  time  thought  that  ail 
those  who  called  themselves  honourable  men  shared 


268  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

the  same  ideas,  but  that,  after  what  I  had  just  heard, 
I  clearly  realised  that  I  had  been  deceived.  Financiers 
must  certainly  hâve  quite  a  différent  moraUty  from 
military  men,  since  I  did  not  believe  that  there  was 
a  single  man,  who  wore  a  sword,  who  would  be  of  a 
humour  to  follow  his  advice.  Nevertheless,  he  was 
giving  it  me  not  only  as  being  passable,  but  further 
praised  it  as  most  excellent.  For  myself,  I  took  quite 
a  différent  view,  and  one  of  us  two  must  be  wrong. 
He  might  keep  his  money,  since  he  valued  it  so  much 
as  to  wish  to  persuade  me  to  purchase  it  at  the 
expense  of  my  honour.  I  would  never  in  my  life 
ask  for  it  again,  especially  when  he  wanted  to  put 
such  a  price  upon  it  as  this. 

I  left  his  house  in  such  a  rage  that,  instead  of  going 
straight  to  M.  Servient  or  to  the  others,  who  had  made 
the  same  offer  as  M.  de  la  Basinière,  I  returned  home 
to  let  my  anger  cool  a  little.  There  I  thought  well 
over  the  matter,  and  decided  I  should  only  hâve  to 
déclare  to  M.  le  Cardinal  or  Bartillac,  in  order  to  avoid 
paying  the  money  or  at  least  defer  its  payment,  that 
the  man  I  hâve  just  spoken  of  had  refused  to  lend  it 
me.  As  I  was  extremely  irritated  at  his  rudeness,  I 
rather  desired  that  his  Eminence  should  discover  his 
bad  faith,  indeed,  I  intended  to  bruit  it  abroad  every- 
where.  I  did  not  fail  to  tell  everyone  I  met  of  his 
behaviour,  and,  as  he  was  none  too  civil,  which  caused 
him  to  hâve  enemies,  and  possessed  great  riches,  for 
which  he  was  envied,  within  twenty-four  hours  the 
whole  of  Paris  knew  of  the  fine  advice  he  had  tried  to 
give  me.  M.  le  Cardinal  was  the  only  one  who  did  not 
know  it,  or,  at  least,  pretended  not  to,  for  he  sent 
Bartillac  to  me  to  say  that  he  did  not  like  my  laughing 


MÈMOtRS  OF  b'ARtAGkAM  âSg 

at  him  like  this,  and  would  for  the  last  time  request 
me  to  do  what  he  had  ordered,  for,  should  I  fail  to  do 
so,  he  would  know  very  well  what  course  to  take  in 
order  to  be  obeyed. 

Thèse  threats  did  not  astonish  me,  for  they  were 
usual  with  him  in  such  cases.  I  told  Bartillac,  so  that 
he  might  repeat  it  to  his  Eminence,  of  the  bad  faith  of 
M.  de  la  Basinière,  and  also  described  the  pretext  he 
had  alleged  as  its  cause, — a  pretext  which  appeared  to 
me  so  extraordinary,  that  I  could  not  help  thinking 
that  he  was  of  an  evil  disposition.  Bartillac  replied 
that  he  shared  my  views.  He  had  already  heard  ail 
the  détails  of  this  affair,  and  begged  me  to  except  him 
from  the  number  of  those  who  preferred  money  to 
honour.  He  had,  he  said,  a  son  whom  he  wished  to 
marry  as  soon  as  possible,  but,  rather  than  he  should 
marry  a  woman  such  as  the  one  I  had  been  advised  to 
take,  he  would  himself  drown  him.  I  was  delighted  to 
hear  him  speak  words  like  thèse,  which  confirmed  me 
in  the  high  estimate  I  had  already  formed  as  to  his 
character,  ever  since  I  had  known  him.  Meanwhile,  he 
advised  me,  as  a  good  friend,  to  settle  this  matter  with 
the  Cardinal  as  speedily  as  possibh.  I  might,  he  said, 
avail  myself  of  what  I  had  told  him  as  an  excuse,  He 
himself  would  let  him  know  of  it,  but  he  much  feared 
it  would  avail  me  but  little,  for  he  appeared  as  bent 
upon  getting  this  money  as  if  it  had  been  a  million. 
I  must  do  what  I  could,  because  the  sooner  it  was 
settled  the  better  for  me. 

In  conséquence  of  this  advice  and  the  minister's 
avarice,  which  I  so  well  knew,  instead  of  going  at  once 
to  see  him,  I  went  to  M.  Servient.  As  he  held  the 
keys  of  the  treasury,  I  could  think  of  no  better  man  ; 


270  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

besides,  he  had  promised  me  the  money.  For  this 
reason,  being  ushered  into  bis  study  by  one  of  bis 
clerks  in  a  very  confident  frame  of  mind,  I  made 
exactly  tbe  same  speech  to  bim  as  I  bad  done  tbe  day 
before  to  M.  de  la  Basinière.  I  took  good  care  bow- 
ever  to  avoid  mentioning  tbe  woman  in  any  way,  lest 
be  sbould  take  to  giving  me  tbe  same  advice  as  tbe 
otber,  but,  as  M.  de  la  Basinière  bad  bimself  told  bim, 
I  found  bim  not  only  fully  aware  of  it,  but  also  so 
imbued  witb  bis  ideas,  tbat  be  told  me  that,  when  one 
possessed  resources  such  as  I  did,  one  sbould  not 
resort  to  one's  friends.  Altbougb  twenty  tbousand 
francs  were  a  mère  nothing,  tbey  were  sometimes 
barder  for  bim  to  find  than  a  large  sum.  He  was  at 
tbe  moment  overdrawn  to  tbe  extent  of  five  millions, 
so  tbat  be  bad  not  one  sou  in  bis  bouse.  Tbis  was 
putting  me  off  just  as  rudely  as  bis  colleague  bad 
done,  and  sbowing  also  as  little  rigbt  feeling  ;  so,  being 
as  ill-pleased  witb  tbe  one  as  tbe  otber,  I  betook  my- 
self  to  tbe  bouse  of  Hervart,  to  see  if  be  was  like  tbese 
otber  two.  He  was  closeted  in  bis  study  witb  bis 
secretary  (Debi  by  name),  wbo  was  an  bonest  enougb 
man,  and  wbo  bad  always  sbown  me  mucb  good  will. 
Tbey  were,  I  was  told,  engaged  on  an  important 
matter,  so,  thinking  tbat  I  ougbt  not  to  interrupt  tbem, 
I  determined  to  wait  till  tbey  bad  finisbed.  Tbere 
were  some  people  in  tbe  waiting-room  witb  wbom  I 
discussed  différent  matters.  At  last,  after  balf  or  tbree- 
quarters  of  an  bour,  Debi  came  out  of  bis  master's 
study,  and  baving  noticed  me,  came  and  asked  wbat  I 
wanted  done.  I  described  my  business  as  briefly  as 
possible,  and  tbougb  be  was  from  a  province  wbere 
people  are  not   usually  afraid  to   burden  tbemselves 


MEMOIRS  OF  b'ARTAGNA})  fjt 

with  a  woman  of  easy  virtue,  always  providing  that 
she  has  something  whereby  to  lighten  the  horns  which 
she    brings   as  dowry  to  her  husband,   he   could    not 
help  at  once  shrugging  his  shoulders  from  impatience. 
He  proceeded  to  express  his  surprise  at  people  of  such 
weight  and  réputation  having  advised  me  to  enter  upon 
such  a  marriage,  and  declared  that,  for  himself,  he  very 
much  approved  of  my  répugnance,  since  I  was  a  man 
of  honour  and  a  man  of  honour  never  forgot  what  was 
due  to  himself.     He  added  that,  if  by  any  chance  I 
did  not  find  the  twenty  thousand  francs  of  which  I 
stood  in  need  in  his  master's  purse,  I  should  do  so  in 
his,  but  he  would  give  me  a  pièce  of  good  advice,  whom- 
ever  I  borrowed  the  money  from,  which  was,  to  ask  for 
a  "brevet  de  retenue"^  on  my  post,  which  I  should  try 
and  get  made  out  for  forty  or  fifty  thousand  francs,  or 
even  more,  if  possible  ;  it  would  always  be  of  use,  and 
besides,  serve  as  security  for  the  money  I  might  borrow. 
Though  I  perceived  he  was  looking  after  his  own 
interests,  in  case  I  should  accept  his  offers,  I  could  not 
blâme  him  ;  for  I  might  die  or  be  killed,  in  which  case 
any  lender  would  run  a  great  risk  of  losing  his  money. 
However,  I  did  not  care  to  involve  my  friends  in  any 
way  for  my  sake,  so  I  thought  it  best  to  address  myself 
to  those  who  had  offered  me  their  help,     There  were 
two  of  thèse  left — his  master  and   M.  de  Lionne.     I 
entered   the   former's    study,   to   see    if    I    should   be 
greeted  in  the  same  way  as   I  had  been  by  Basinière 
and   Servient.     I    ought   to   hâve  expected  no  better 
réception  from  Hervart,  for  he  was  of  Swiss  nationality, 
and   he   would   hâve   had   to   hâve   belied    the   usual 
réputation  of  his  countrymen,  if  he  had  been  willing 

^  Brevet  de  retenue  :  A  kind  of  charge  which  could  be  used  as  a 
security  for  borrowing  money  upon. 


i-^i  MËMOÏRS  OF  D'ARTAGMAM 

to  help  me.  I  duly  set  forth  the  object  of  my  visît, 
and,  having  done  so,  he  was  unable  to  reply,  like 
Servient,  that  he  had  no  money.  Debi  had  just 
counted  eut  fifteen  thousand  louis  d'or  which  lay  out- 
side  their  bags,  though  the  custom  was  to  weigh  and 
not  to  count  them,  and  I  do  not  rightly  know  why  this 
usage  had  been  broken.  Be  this  as  it  may,  not  being 
able,  as  I  hâve  said,  to  give  this  reason  for  being 
untrue  to  his  word,  he  made  use  of  the  same  excuse  as 
La  Basinière  to  get  rid  of  me.  He  asked  me  straight 
out,  which  was  the  most  hurtful  to  a  man's  figure, — to  be 
made  a  cuckold,  or  a  sword-thrust  in  the  water  ?  I  saw 
what  he  was  driving  at  and  consequently  replied  in  a 
way  which  should  hâve  dumfounded  him,  had  he  not 
apparently  been  animated  by  the  same  sentiments  as 
his  colleagues.  I  said  that  neither  a  sword-thrust  in 
the  water  nor  a  man's  making  love  to  a  woman  really 
spoilt  the  figure  of  him  who  was  interested  ;  but,  as  the 
one  upset  the  mind  in  a  dreadful  degree,  whereas  the 
other  did  not  deserve  the  least  thought,  he  must  allow 
me  to  tell  him  that  no  comparison  was  possible.  Upon 
this  he  retorted,  that  only  fools  and  people  of  unsound 
judgment  worried  about  what  I  spoke  of.  A  cuck- 
old's  leg  was  no  worse  made,  because  his  wife 
amused  herself.  In  his  idea,  the  only  thing  which 
should  give  one  a  headache,  was  to  hâve  an  affair  on 
hand,  without  money  to  extricate  oneself  from  it  ;  and, 
as  I  was  in  such  a  plight,  I  should  be  able  to  give  him 
an  answer  on  the  subject.  He  proceeded  to  advise 
me,  as  a  friend,  not  to  lose  the  chance  I  had,  and  a 
proof  of  his  friendship  was,  that  he  had  no  money  to 
lend  me.  I  ought  to  take  what  was  offered  and  put 
myself  in  a  comfortable  position  for  the  rest  of 
my  life. 


MEMOÎRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAPt  fj^ 

From  this  answer  I  clearly  divined  that  ail  three  had 
agreed  on  a  given  course  of  action  to  annoy  me  ;  so, 
thinking  that  it  was  useless  to  say  any  more,  I  went 
to  see  M.  de  Lionne,  whom  I  found  out.  Discovering 
on  enquiry,  that  he  would  not  return  till  the  evening, 
I  went  for  a  walk,  in  order  to  décide  on  some  course  of 
action  and  pass  the  time  between  then  and  now,  call- 
ing  at  my  house  to  see  if  anyone  had  been  to  visit  me. 
My  landlord  told  me  that  no  one  had  called,  except  a 
servant  with  a  letter  which  he  proceeded  to  give  me. 
No  sooner  had  I  cast  my  eyes  upon  it,  than  I  per- 
ceived  that  it  came  frora  the  woman.  I  opened  it  to 
see  what  more  she  might  want,  after  what  I  had  told 
her.  I  thought  that  I  had  shown  that  there  was  noth- 
ing  to  be  hoped  for  from  me.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
having  opened  this  letter,  I  perceived  that  she 
expected  nothing — far  from  it,  she  merely  reproached 
me  for  my  behaviour,  and  said  that  it  was  a  strange 
thing  that  her  good  will  towards  me  should  hâve 
but  drawn  my  slanders  upon  herself.  I  had  been 
quite  at  liberty  to  take  her  or  not,  there  was  nothing 
to  be  said  on  that  score  ;  but,  if  this  was  permissible, 
to  cruelly  bruit  her  name  abroad,  as  I  had  done, 
was  not. 

From  the  style  in  which  her  letter  was  couched,  I 
saw  that  she  did  not  like  my  having  boasted,  as  I  had 
done,  of  the  offers  she  had  made  me.  Indeed,  ail 
Paris  was  talking  about  it,  and,  as  she  had  said 
nothing  to  anyone,  and  it  could  only  hâve  become 
known  through  what  I  had  confided  to  La  Basinière 
having  become  common  property,  more  was  not  needed 
to  make  me  admit  that  I  had  been  wrong.  I  went  to  see 
her  to  apologise  and  frankly  own  in  what  spirit  I  had 
VOL.  II  l8 


274  ME  MO  1RS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

acted.  My  conduct  had  in  no  way  arisen  from  a  spirit 
of  slander,  and  I  could  hâve  taken  whatever  oath  she 
might  hâve  desired  to  that  effect,  but  I  was  not  troubled 
to  do  so.  She  refused  to  see  me,  either  because  she 
did  not  want  my  civility,  or  w^as  outraged  at  the  con- 
tempt  I  had  shown  for  her,  by  refusing  the  proposai 
which  she  had  not  herself  scrupled  to  make  to  me. 

This  refusai  delighted  rather  than  pained  me.  After 
what  La  Basinière,  Servient  and  Hervart  had  done,  I 
had  reason  to  be  afraid  of  De  Lionne  following  their 
example,  but  now,  neither  M.  le  Cardinal  nor  any  of 
his  créatures  could  again  tell  me  that  I  ought  to 
hâve  recourse  to  this  woman  to  procure  the  money. 
For,  being  enraged,  which  she  could  show  in  no 
better  way  than  by  refusing  to  open  her  door,  as  she 
had  done,  she  was  at  présent  very  far  from  wishing  to 
give  me  any.  I  should,  therefore,  hâve  heartily  desired 
that  M.  de  Lionne  should,  like  the  other  three,  hâve 
given  me  a  refusai,  for  I  flattered  myself  that,  once 
M.  le  Cardinal  should  really  be  convinced  of  my  in- 
ability  to  pay,  he  would  leave  me  in  peace.  However, 
De  Lionne,  who  was  a  more  honest  man  than  the 
others,  having  taken  care  not  to  break  his  word  once 
it  was  given,  told  me  that  very  evening  that,  though  he 
had  not  the  money  by  him,  he  would  not  fail  to  find  it 
for  me  by  the  next  morning,  but  he  must,  he  added, 
ask  me  for  certain  reasons  to  let  no  one  know  that  he 
was  the  giver.  This  was  a  more  important  thing  than 
I  could  imagine.  He  would  ask  me  for  an  oath  to 
that  effect,  and  I  ought  not  to  refuse  it,  so  as  to  let  his 
mind  rest  in  peace. 

The  oath  he  wished  to  exact  more  than  ever  con- 
vinced me  that  it  was  M.  le  Cardinal  who  had  set  ail 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGbtAN  075 

four  to  work,  when  they  had  offered  me  money.  I  also 
concluded  that  M.  de  Lionne,  being  more  honourable 
than  the  others,  did  not  wish  to  lay  himself  open  to  my 
accusing  him  of  having  broken  his  word,  and  so  was 
about  to  lend  me  the  money,  in  spite  of  the  Cardinal's 
having  now  forbidden  such  a  thing.  I  assured  him 
that  I  would  do  ail  he  wished,  adding  that  I  would  be 
sincerely  grieved  to  inconvenience  him  in  any  way,  and 
would  not  permit  him  to  borrow  for  me,  since  he  had 
no  money  at  hand.  He  most  honourably  rejoined  that 
it  was  of  no  conséquence  whatever  ;  he  had,  he  said,  a 
purse  at  his  command,  which  never  failed,  but,  even 
were  it  to  do  so,  he  would  not  fail  to  extricate  me  from 
my  difficulty.  I  might  not  know  that  there  were  some 
subjects  on  which  the  Cardinal  did  not  understand 
joking.  For  this  reason  I  ought  to  settle  this  matter 
at  once,  and  he  thought  he  need  say  no  more.  A  mère 
word  was  needed  to  send  me  back  to  my  province,  and, 
as  no  greater  misfortune  than  that  could  ever  happen 
to  me,  especially  to-day,  when  I  was  beginning  to  see 
the  way  to  making  a  fortune,  there  was  nothing  I 
ought  not  to  do  to  guard  myself  against  such  a  fate. 

By  this  he  meant  becoming  a  captain  in  the  Guards  ; 
indeed,  once  one  had  obtained  a  post  of  this  kind,  it 
was  rare  that  one  left  it  without  a  governorship,  and 
he  looked  upon  the  governorship  of  a  fortress  much  as 
a  fat  abbey,  in  which  also  he  was  not  far  wrong.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  having  made  an  appointment  the  next 
morning  at  nine  o'clock  for  me  to  corne  and  get  my 
money,  he  sent  to  beg  the  treasurer-general  of  the 
states  of  Brittany  to  send  him  this  sum.  It  was  a 
man  named  Harouis  who  then  held  this  post,  and  still 
holds  it  to-day.     No  man  was  ever  more  obliging  than 

18—2 


276  MËMOÏkS    OP  Ù'ARTAGNAl^ 

hfe  !  He  had  never  known  what  it  was  to  refuse  any- 
thing  to  an  honourable  man,  so  much  so  that,  had  one 
asked  him  to  give  himself,  I  think  he  would  at  once 
hâve  done  so.  He  had,  besides,  none  of  the  ways  of  a 
business  man,  having  much  more  those  of  a  prince,  so 
generous  was  he  !  Apparently  this  came  to  him  from 
descent,  for,  regular  financier  as  he  was,  his  was  no 
low  origin,  as  is  usual  with  ail  the  people  who  take  up 
this  profession.  His  ancestors  had  always  held  a 
prominent  place  in  Brittany,  and  his  father  had  been 
First  Président  of  the  Chambre  des  Comptes  there. 
He  sent  M.  de  Lionne  the  twenty  thousand  francs 
which  he  had  sent  to  ask  for  by  letter.  They  had  just 
come  as  I  arrived,  and,  finding  them  still  quite  warm, 
I  did  not  give  them  time  to  get  cold.  They  were  in 
beautiful  double  pistoles,  and,  having  taken  them  away 
to  the  Cardinal's  house,  the  first  words  he  said  when 
he  saw  me  were,  had  I  complied  with  the  order  he  had 
had  conveyed  to  me  by  Bartillac  ? 

Though  he  asked  me  this,  I  was  sure  that  he  did 
not  think  that  I  had  been  able  to  do  so  ;  for,  from 
what  M.  de  Lionne  had  said,  and  on  account  of  a 
thousand  other  circumstances,  it  was  clear  to  me  that 
he  it  was  who  had  forbidden  ail  four  to  advance  me 
the  money  they  had  promised.  I  must  say,  however, 
that,  far  from  the  Cardinal  wishing  me  evil,  I  really 
believe  that,  putting  his  own  interests  out  of  the 
question,  he  wished  only  to  do  me  good.  Knowing 
me  to  be  a  pauper,  which  to  him  seemed  the  most 
misérable  thing  possible,  he  would  hâve  desired  me 
not  to  hâve  shown  so  much  delicacy  and  only  spoke  as 
he  did,  or,  at  least,  I  thought  so,  to  be  able  to  again 
repeat  that  I  must  marry  this  woman,  since  she  alone 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  377 

could  make  a  certainty  of  my  obtaining  a  company  in 
the  Guards.  His  Eminence  was  very  much  surprised, 
when  I  had  told  him  that  I  had  brought  the  money  to 
him,  adding,  that  I  had  not  taken  it  to  the  house  of 
M.  de  Bartillac,  as  he  had  ordered  me,  because,  it 
being  rumoured  that  he  was  on  the  eve  of  setting  out 
on  a  voyage,  he  could  not  furnish  himself  with  finer 
pièces  and  more  portable  ones  than  those  I  had  now  to 
give  him.  They  were  quite  new  double  louis,  so  much 
so  that  one  would  hâve  said  that  not  two  days  had 
passed  since  they  had  been  minted.  He  enquired  who 
had  given  them  to  me,  and  as,  after  what  M.  de  Lionne 
had  said,  I  took  good  care  not  to  tell  him,  I  made 
answer  that  there  he  was  asking  me  a  thing  which  I 
would  not  confide  to  my  confessor  himself,  were  he 
ever  to  ask  it.  The  giver  did  not  want  to  be  known, 
and  the  best  thing  I  could  do  after  such  a  kindness 
would  be  to  comply  with  this  wish. 

My  story  made  him  believe  that  the  money  came  to 
me  from  the  woman  who  had  made  the  offer.  He 
asked  to  see  the  pièces,  and,  having  turned  them  out 
upon  a  table,  wished  to  know  if  I  had  counted  them 
before  putting  them  in  the  bag.  I  replied  yes,  and 
that  I  had  found  their  number  correct.  The  minister 
believed  my  word,  and,  having  wanted  to  himself 
replace  the  coins  without  allowing  me  to  help,  they 
were  no  sooner  collected  together  than  he  put  his  nose 
to  them.  I  did  not  understand  what  he  meant  by  this, 
having  never  heard  of  people  smelling  either  gold  or 
silver.  Nevertheless,  I  had  formerly  read  in  Roman 
history  that  the  Emperor  Vespasian  had  once  made 
his  son  act  like  this,  because  he  had  opposed  an  edict 
of  his  which  dealt  with  certain  sanitary  matters.     I 


278  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

had  read,  I  repeat,  that,  after  his  son  had  replied  that 
he  could  detect  no  smell  in  this  money,  he  had  re- 
joined  that,  notwithstanding  that,  it  was  produced  by 
the  edict  in  question,  which  he  had  declared  to  hâve 
such  a  bad  odour.  Be  this  as  it  may,  not  happening 
to  think  of  the  same  thing  as  the  Cardinal,  I  hardly 
gave  a  thought  to  what  he  was  doing  when,  after 
having  smelt  the  bag,  he  bade  me  smell  it  also.  I  at 
once  thought  that  he  had  detected  some  smell,  and, 
having  put  it  to  my  nose  and  finding  none,  I  told  him 
what  I  thought,  because  he  had  asked  me  if  it  did  not 
émit  an  unpleasant  odour.  I  had  no  sooner  let  him 
hâve  my  opinion,  than  I  clearly  perceived  that  he,  as 
well  as  myself,  had  read  Roman  history,  and  was  even 
trying  to  apply  it  to  me.  Indeed,  he  at  once  told  me 
that,  since  this  money  had  no  bad  smell,  everything  I 
could  extract  from  the  same  source  would  hâve  none 
either.  He  added  that  he  would  not  enquire  whether 
it  had  been  given  me  under  promise  of  marriage  or  as 
a  reward  for  some  service  already  performed.  I  should 
be  too  discreet  to  admit  such  a  thing,  but,  in  short, 
wherever  this  présent  came  from,  he  congratulated  me 
upon  it. 

The  Cardinal  was  in  an  excellent  temper,  because 
there  was  nothing  more  likely  to  make  him  so  than 
the  sight  of  the  métal  I  had  just  shown  him  ;  so,  after 
some  jesting,  he  asked  me  when  I  should  like  to  set 
out  for  Rhetel,  adding  that  my  voyage  was  very  neces- 
sary,  owing  to  the  complaints  made  in  Champagne  of 
the  ravages  of  Montai,  who  was  levying  contributions 
up  to  the  frontiers  of  Brie.  I  answered  that,  if  he 
desired  to  stop  thèse  ravages,  whilst  I  tried  to  arrange 
matters  with  that  governor,  I  would  soon  let  him 
know  the  way.     This  was   to   keep  our   own   troops 


ME  HOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  279 

under  stern  discipline,  by  which  they  were  too  little 
controUed  at  présent.  Indeed,  they  were  as  bad  as  the 
soldiers  of  the  Prince  de  Condé  in  this  respect,  from 
whom  they  could  not  be^  distinguished,  as  both  sides 
belonged  to  our  nation.  Many  complaints  had  been 
already  made  to  his  Eminence  about  this,  but  he  had 
deemed  the  evil  irrémédiable,  because  he  did  not  know 
how  to  set  about  arresting  it. 

He  was  delighted  at  my  words  and  at  once  told  me 
that,  if  I  could  do  the  King  such  a  service  as  this,  I 
might  rely  upon  a  speedy  reward.  I  thought  of 
answering  that  ail  the  recompense  I  would  ask  for 
would  be  the  return  of  the  two  thousand  pistoles  I  had 
just  given  him,  but,  reflecting  that,  in  his  présent  mood, 
he  would  rather  give  me  the  bâton  of  a  Maréchal  of 
France  than  return  this  money,  I  repressed  any 
inclination  to  speak  my  thoughts.  So,  instead  of 
saying  so,  I  declared  that  a  good  servant  of  the  King, 
such  as  I  professed  to  be,  was  not  swayed  by  self- 
interest,  but  left  his  reward  to  his  prince  ;  so,  without 
further  ado,  I  would  quickly  let  him  know  my  views  as 
to  the  repression  of  the  ravages  we  had  spoken  of. 
We  had  only  to  fill  our  villages  with  soldiers  and  en- 
trench  ourselves  strongly,  for  in  this  way  our  troops 
would  not  leave  their  entrenchments  without  the 
orders  of  their  officers,  and  as  thèse  officers  would 
perceive  the  danger  of  attacks  taking  place  at  any 
moment,  unless  a  good  look-out  was  kept,  they  would 
hâve  to  be  the  first  to  betake  themselves  to  thèse 
villages,  so  as  to  supervise  their  soldiers,  whereas,  now 
that  their  companies  were  in  towns  which  they  knew 

^  Regular  military  uniforms  had  not  as  yet  been  introduced. 
A  scarf  or  other  similar  emblem  served  to  distinguish  the 
différent  sides. 


28o  ME  HOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

to  be  safe,  this  was  not  the  case.  They  came  to  spend 
their  time  at  Paris,  because  the  neighbourhood  suited 
them  well,  as  did  the  freedom  in  which  they  lived. 
This  freedom  was  so  great,  that  ail  their  actions  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  career  of  arms,  which  they 
professed  to  follow;  for,  though  it  requires  no  less 
order  and  obédience  than  exists  in  convents,  every- 
one  wanted  to  be  master,  so  much  so  that,  provided 
one  was  a  captain,  one  could  go  out  on  horseback 
without  thinking  of  asking  the  leave  of  a  soûl.  Only 
the  subalterns  were  compelled  to  observe  some  sort 
of  discipline,  and  they  very  often  broke  away  from  it  ; 
for  a  single  lieutenant  being  constantly  left  in  a 
garrison,  especially  when  safe  from  attack,  the  other 
lieutenants  or  ensigns  thought  it  shameful  to  go  and 
salute  a  man  who  only  had  the  advantage  of  being  in 
command,  because  he  belonged  to  a  régiment  which 
took  precedence  over  their  own. 

M.  le  Cardinal  agreed  with  what  I  said,  and  told  me 
to  prépare  to  set  out  the  Thursday  following,  and  he 
would  issue  the  order  for  my  company  to  march  to 
Rhetel  with  the  one  which  belonged  to  Pradel.  Pradel, 
who  was  Governor  of  St.  Quentin,  had  gone  to  that 
town  by  the  express  orders  of  his  Eminence,  so  every- 
thing  was  arranged  as  it  should  be,  in  order  that  I 
might  hâve  the  command  of  thèse  two  companies.  As 
they  were  to  set  out  the  same  day  as  myself,  I  asked 
M.  le  Cardinal  to  allow  me  to  remain  in  Paris  some 
days  longer,  calculating  that  I  could,  by  taking  post, 
rejoin  them  before  they  reached  Rheims.  However, 
his  Eminence  would  not  consent  to  this,  because  he 
wished  me  to  go  and  see  M.  de  Voisins  (who  is  to-day 
a  Councillor  of  State),  and  who  was  then  Intendant  at 
Châlons.     He  was  utérine  brother  to   La  Basinière, 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  aSi 

but,  as  there  is   more   honour  to  be  found  amongst 
magistrates  than  financiers,  I  found  him  to  be  a  just 
man,  and  one  not  to  be  corrupted  like  the  other.     I 
was  ordered  by  the  minister  to  lay  before  him  a  plan 
of  my   opérations,   so   that   he  might  give   me  every 
assistance  in  carrying  them  out.     He  agreed  with  me 
as  the  Cardinal  had  done,  and,  having  stayed  four  or 
five  days  with  him,  I  set  out  to  join  my  company  at 
Rhetel.     M.  l'Intendant  gave  me  an   escort   to   that 
town,  which  was  a  highly  necessary  précaution,  until 
such  time  as  my  plan  should  hâve  been  carried  out  ; 
but,    once   troops  were  marched  into   the  villages,  it 
was  no  longer  needed  at  ail.     The  reason  for  this  was, 
that  sentinels  were  placed  in  the  bell-towers,  and  as 
this  part  of  the  country  is   very  open,   signais  were 
made  from  one  to   the  other,  and  sufficient  soldiers 
sent  out  to  cope  with  the  enemy's  forces.     A  chime, 
more  or  less,  of  a  bell  announced  their  number.     M. 
Voisin  told  me  when  I  went  away,  that  he  would  soon 
come  and  see  me,  as  I  was  the  originator  of  this  plan, 
and  seven  days  iater,  he  made  his  appearance,  and  we 
set  out   together  with  an  escort   to   reconnoitre   the 
villages  which  were  to  be  fortified.     I  had  lines  drawn 
round  those  which  were  to  be  defended  with  palisades, 
and  orders  were  issued  for  earthworks  to  be  constructed, 
where  I  deemed  them  needful.    Meanwhile,  as  ail  thèse 
précautions  must  fail,  unless  orders  were  sent  out  for 
ail   officers   to   return  to  their   garrisons,  thèse  were 
duly  promulgated  and  had  to  be  obeyed  on  pain  of 
being  cashiered  for  disobedience.     The  Trésoriers  de 
l'Extraordinaire  1  and  their  clerks  were  also  instructed 
not  to  pay  those  who  were  on  leave  without  a  certifi- 

1  Thèse  were  the  officiais  who  looked  after  additional  expansés 
for  "  extraordinary  "  purposes,  such  as  war. 


282  MEMOIRE  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

cate  from  the  intendant.  By  thèse  means  they  were 
obliged  to  attend  to  their  duties.  Montai  at  first 
attempted  to  worry  us,  but,  as  we  were  sufficiently 
strong  to  repel  any  attack,  he  was  merely  put  to  the 
trouble  of  having  to  retreat  without  having  effected 
anything. 

Meanwhile,  so  as  to  find  means  to  communicate 
with  him,  I  made  fifteen  of  my  soldiers  set  out  one 
night  on  the  pretext  of  reconnoitring.  I  instructed 
them  to  return  to  Paris  by  devions  roads,  with  the 
exception  of  one,  who  was  to  act  as  I  had  previously 
directed  him  to  do.  They  ail  acted  exactly  in  accord- 
ance  with  my  orders,  and  the  man  who  was  not  to 
return  to  Paris  reappeared  the  next  morning,  like  one 
terrified  by  some  horrible  catastrophe.  He  proceeded 
to  describe  before  a  number  of  officers  at  my  quarters, 
how  ail  his  comrades  had  been  killed  one  after  the 
other,  the  enemy  (to  the  number  of  two  hundred) 
having  surrounded  them  in  a  little  wood  and  carried 
out  this  fine  pièce  of  work  in  cold  blood,  without 
heeding  their  prayers  for  quarter.  He  alone  had  by 
good  luck  escaped,  leaving  the  other  fourteen  men 
lifeless  on  the  ground.  Only  the  governor  and  myself 
knew  this  to  be  a  fabrication.  I  feigned  to  fly  into  a 
rage  at  this  news,  and  asking  the  governor  what  he 
now  intended  to  do,  without  awaiting  his  reply,  de- 
clared  that  my  opinion  was  that,  as  the  enemy  had 
granted  no  quarter  to  the  régiment  of  guards,  the 
régiment  of  guards  should  grant  them  none  in  return, 
and,  as  his  jurisdiction  extended  only  to  matters  within 
the  walls  of  the  town,  he  at  once  said  I  might  do  as  I 
liked.  I,  therefore,  immediately  despatched  a  drummer 
to  Rocroi  to  let  Montai  know  that  my  men  would  not, 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  283 

if  possible,  let  one  of  his  soldiers  escape  alive,  if  any 
should  fall  into  their  hands.  On  his  enquiring  the 
cause  of  my  rage  and  learning  it  from  the  drummer,  he 
declared  that  I  was  trying  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  him, 
as  no  reason  whatever  existed  for  my  indignation. 
He  was  sorry,  he  added,  that  I  wished  in  this  way 
to  waste  life  in  cold  blood  ;  but,  as  such  was  the  case, 
he  would  give  me  back  as  good  as  I  gave,  when 
occasion  offered.  I  pretended  great  anger,  on  the 
drummer's  return,  at  this  speech  of  Montal's,  and  said 
before  everyone,  that  he  did  well  to  deny  such  a  deed, 
because  every  bad  action  ought  to  be  denied.  Mean- 
while,  I  sent  out  some  bodies  of  men  who  spared  none 
of  the  enemy,  whether  they  were  in  force  or  not, 
whenever  they  chanced  to  meet.  I  should  hâve  been 
sorry  for  this  state  of  affairs  to  continue  long,  but,  as 
there  are  certain  times,  at  least,  in  war,  when  it  is 
permissible  to  make  some  individuals  perish  to  save  a 
greater  number,  I  waited  patiently  till  I  should  find 
means  to  stop  the  state  of  disorder  the  country  was  in. 
In  addition  to  thèse  measures,  I  began  to  mix  other 
soldiers  with  my  own.  Montai  did  not  fail  to  gain 
information  of  this,  and,  indeed,  his  men  who  were 
constantly  fighting  with  us  could  not  hâve  failed  to 
perceive  it.  It  was  as  easy  for  them  to  distinguish 
the  soldiers  of  the  Guard  from  those  of  other  régi- 
ments, as  it  is  to  distinguish  a  lame  man  from 
a  well-made  one.  The  former  were  well  dressed, 
because  their  captains  were  obliged  to  equip  them, 
whereas  the  latter  were  as  naked  as  one's  hand. 
Be  this  as  it  may.  Montai,  who  could  be  humane 
or  brutal  as  the  circumstances  required,  being 
desirous,  if  possible,  to  arrest  the  flow  of  blood  which 


284  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

was  commencing,  and  which  appeared  likely  to  last, 
wrote  to  the  governor  on  the  subject,  so  as  to  devise 
some  remedy  for  such  a  state  of  affairs. 

The  governor,  who  had  orders  to  consult  me  about 
everything,  let  me  know  of  this,  and  asked  what  his 
ansvver  should  be.  I  asked  him  to  send  v^^ord  to 
Montai  for  an  offîcer's  passport,  so  that  this  matter 
might  be  settled  in  a  friendly  manner.  Montai,  who 
did  not  wish  for  anything  better,  at  once  sent  back  a 
passport  with  a  blank  space  for  the  ofiîcer,  in  which 
the  governor,  by  my  instructions,  inserted  my  own 
name.  I  at  once  mounted  horse,  so  as  to  lose  ,no 
time,  and,  having  reached  Rocroi  that  evening.  Montai, 
who  had  never  seen  me,  was  very  much  astounded 
when,  on  reading  the  passport,  he  perceived  that  I 
was  the  individual  who  had  inaugurated  this  campaign 
against  him.  Being  a  clever  man,  he  immediately 
suspected  that  I  had  not  come  for  nothing.  He 
took  care  however,  to  keep  his  thoughts  to  himself, 
and  proceeded  to  express,  in  very  polite  tones,  his 
regret  at  my  having  believed  one  of  my  soldiers  to 
his  préjudice,  adding,  that  I  must  perceive  that  it 
was  I  alone  who  was  responsible  for  the  blood  which 
had  been  shed.  However,  as  that  was  past,  the  best 
thing  we  could  do  would  be  to  trust  one  another  more, 
for  the  fact  of  our  being  enemies  need  not  detract 
from  our  humanity  nor  our  politeness;  indeed,  amongst 
honourable  men,  such  a  thing  rather  increased  one's 
eagerness  to  gain  the  esteem  of  an  adversary. 

His  looks  did  not  at  ail  coïncide  with  the  suavity  of 
his  words,  for  his  appearance  was  more  like  that 
of  a  satyr  than  a  well-bred  man.  Nevertheless,  as  one 
must  never  judge   people  by  appearances,  and   as   I 


MËMOlRS   OF  Ù'AkTAGNAM  285 

knew  that  he  was  a  redoubtable  antagonist,  I  kept  a 
good  watch  over  myself,  lest  I  should  let  drop  some 
Word  which  might  give  him  a  hold  over  me.  I  was 
aware  that  flattery  overcame  most  people,  and  there- 
fore  began  to  overwhelm  him  with  it.  I  descanted 
upon  his  vigilance  and  his  activity,  and  laid  stress  on 
the  fact  that  M.  le  Prince  had  given  him  a  signal 
mark  of  his  appréciation  by  choosing  him  for  the  im- 
portant position  he  held,  to  the  détriment  of  many 
others  who  followed  his  fortunes.  AU  this  was  but 
meaningless  talk,  but  notwithstanding,  I  proceeded  to 
keep  up  the  same  tone  of  flattery  throughout  our  con- 
versation. We  next  proceeded  to  discuss  the  matter 
which  had  brought  me,  and  as  there  were  other 
negotiations  to  be  debated  by  me  on  behalf  of  the 
Governor  of  Rhetel,  we  had  several  conférences 
together.  I  found  means  during  thèse  interviews  to 
further  compliment  Montai,  telling  him  that  it  was  a 
pity  for  a  man  such  as  he  to  waste  his  youth  by  serving 
another  than  his  King,  and  enquiringwhat  he  could  hope 
for  from  such  a  course  of  conduct;  for,  besides  his  hon- 
our  and  duty  being  at  stake,  it  was  certain  that  the  King 
could  do  more  for  him  in  a  single  day  than  M.  le  Prince 
in  his  whole  lifetime.  To  this  he  was  obliged  to  agrée, 
and,  having  ceased  to  discuss  anything  else,  I  next 
told  him  that,  as  he  admitted  the  truth  of  my  con- 
tentions, he  would  be  neglecting  both  his  fortunes  and 
his  honour,  were  he  not  to  attempt  to  repair  his  faults 
by  some  conspicuous  services.  By  this  I  meant  him 
to  understand  that  the  giving  up  of  Rocroi  to  his 
Majesty  would  be  the  service  in  question,  but,  as  he 
desired  to  see  what  I  was  driving  at,  he  listened  very 
attentively    without    making    any   interruption.      He 


286  MEMOIRS  O^  D'ARTAGNAî4 

assumed,  however,  a  certain  docile  air,  as  if  he  was 
already  half  persuaded  by  my  reasoning  ;  so,  perceiving 
this,  I  did  not  stop  half  way  after  such  a  good  begin- 
ning,  and  added  that,  though  he  might  perhaps  address 
himself  to  others  who  had  more  influence  than  myself 
with  the  Court,  my  connection  with  M.  le  Cardinal 
was  close  enough  for  me  to  be  of  use  to  him,  were  he 
willing  to  employ  me.  I  should  be  doubly  pleased  to 
do  my  best,  since,  in  addition  to  the  service  I  should 
be  doing  the  King,  I  should  further  hâve  the  satis- 
faction of  obtaining  his  friendship. 

I  do  not  know  for  what  reason  he  allowed  me  to 
continue  speaking  without  making  any  remark,  but,  as 
he  could  not  always  remain  silent,  he  eventually  said, 
intending  to  draw  me  out  further,  that  my  arguments 
were  very  good  ones,  but,  after  a  step  such  as  the  one 
he  had  taken,  no  retreat  was  possible.  The  whole  of 
his  future  was  in  the  hands  of  M.  le  Prince,  who  had 
already  done  a  great  deal  for  him.  He  had  promoted 
him  from  ensign  to  the  governorship  of  such  an 
important  fortress  as  Rocroi.  M.  le  Cardinal,  who 
controUed  ail  Court  favours,  was  not  the  man  to  do 
the  same  for  him  nor  anything  like  it.  He  was  as 
hard  as  a  nail  when  there  was  a  question  of  giving 
anything  away,  and  there  was  no  need  to  tell  me  this, 
since  I  had  passed  through  his  hands.  My  answer 
was  that,  though  I  would  not  deny  that  his  Eminence 
bore  the  réputation  of  being  miserly,  yet,  in  spite  of 
this,  when  his  Majesty's  interests  were  at  stake,  his 
behaviour  was  of  quite  a  différent  kind.  True  it  was 
that  there  existed  no  chance  of  his  bestowing  a 
governorship  upon  him  directly  he  should  bave  left 
the  service  of  M.  le  Prince,  for  time  was  necessary 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNA^  287 

to  obliterate  the  remembrance  of  his  having  been 
a  rebel.  Upon  this  he  interrupted  me,  and  said  that, 
since  his  défection  would  always  be  remembered,  he 
thought  me  too  just  and  disinterested  to  counsel  him 
to  accept  an  arrangement  by  which  he  would  always 
be  looked  upon  with  suspicion.  As  he  was  esteemed 
by  the  party  he  was  now  siding  with,  he  would  do 
much  better  to  remain  with  them  than  join  one  by 
which  he  would  be  always  regarded  as  a  traitor  ; 
indeed,  he  must  either  lose  his  sensé  or  his  honour  to 
let  himself  be  seduced  by  my  words. 

Anyone  else  than  I  might  perhaps  hâve  been  puzzled 
how  to  meet  his  objections,  for  they  were  to  a  certain 
extent  valid,  but,  as  it  is  seldom  that  one  who  is 
fighting  for  justice  and  truth  is  stopped  short,  I  pro- 
tested  that,  from  ail  appearance,  he  had  not  understood 
what  I  had  wished  to  convey  to  him.  When  I  had 
said  that  M.  le  Cardinal  would  not  at  once  give  him  a 
governorship  like  the  one  he  was  holding,  I  had  only 
meant  that  there  would  hâve  to  be  an  interval  between 
his  rébellion  and  his  recompense.  M.  de  Turenne, 
the  Comte  de  Grandpré,  Bussi  Rabutin,  and  others, 
had  ail  recovered  the  King's  favour,  after  having  borne 
arms  against  him,  though  at  first  it  had  not  been 
deemed  opportune,  owing  to  public  opinion,  to  show 
any  signs  of  reposing  especial  confidence  in  them.  I 
gave,  besides,  several  other  reasons  to  support  my 
contention.  He  appeared  more  than  half  convinced 
by  thèse  arguments,  so,  continuing  in  the  same  strain, 
he  eventually  asked  me  straight  out  what  the  Cardinal 
intended  to  do  for  him,  were  he  to  come  over  to  his 
side.  At  that  time,  the  King  was  no  more  spoken  of 
than  if  he  had  never  existed.     His  name  indeed  was 


288  MËMOÎRS  OP  D'ARTAGNAN 

affîxed  to  public  documents,  but  only  as  a  matter  of 
form.  The  world  was  unaware  that  he  would  become 
one  of  the  greatest  Kings  whom  France  ever  boasted, 
and  the  most  worthy  to  rule.  Directly  I  perceived 
that  Montai  was  reaching  the  point  of  making  this 
enquiry,  I  deemed  my  negotiations  to  be  going  on 
well,  but  thinking  it  best  to  be  more  cautions  than  he, 
I  determined  not  to  put  forward  any  offers  yet,  though 
I  was  empowered  to  do  so,  for  I  feared  he  might  divine 
that  thèse  had  been  the  express  object  of  my  coming. 
I  replied,  therefore,  more  reservedly  than  ever,  that  this 
was  going  beyond  my  powers.  If  he  wished  for  any 
definite  assurance,  he  must  let  me  write  to  the  Court. 
He  made  answer  that  I  had  done  well  to  act  so 
shrewdly,  and  he  had  expected  nothing  else  from  me, 
but  nevertheless,  it  was  totally  useless  in  his  case, 
because  he  saw  through  everything,  and  felt  pretty 
sure  that  I  had  corne  into  Champagne  expressly  to  win 
him  over,  and  I  ought  to  admit  this,  if  I  were  as  frank 
as  himself,  and  it  would  serve  my  interests  more  than 
I  thought. 

He  failed  to  persuade  me,  though  he  held  out  such 
great  inducements,  for  I  knew  that  nothing  was  so 
dangerous  as  an  enemy's  advice;  so,  having  maintained 
my  reserve,  he  told  me  that  I  might  tell  him  my  secret, 
whenever  I  thought  fit  to  do  so.  I  asked  him  again 
whether  he  wished  me  to  write  or  not  and,  on  his 
making  reply  that  I  might  do  as  I  pleased,  but  it  was 
unnecessary,  I  pondered  over  this  somewhat  ambiguous 
answer  and  determined  to  leave  matters  as  they  were. 

In  the  meanwhile,  we  agreed  that  quarter  should 
be  given  by  the  soldiers  on  both  sides,  a  thing  which 
was  mutually  advantageous,  and  besides,  I  was  already 


ME  MOI  R  s   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  289 

beginning  to  feel  some  qualms  at  having  been  the 
originator  of  the  horrors  which  had  taken  place. 
After  the  discussion  of  some  other  matters,  Montai 
pressed  me  to  leave,  for  he  feared  that,  were  I  to 
make  a  longer  stay,  he  might  become  an  object  of 
suspicion  to  M.  le  Prince.  I  did  not  think  fit  to 
remain  in  défiance  of  his  wishes  and,  telling  him  that 
I  might  return  to  settle  the  question  of  "  contributions," 
which  was  under  discussion  between  us,  he  rejoined 
that  I  must  arrange  matters  so  that  that  might  be 
my  last  visit,  because  he  would  not  see  me  twice 
more  in  his  fortress.  I  thoroughiy  understood  from 
this  answer  that  he  was  anxious  to  at  once  learn  ail 
I  had  to  say  and,  having  informed  M.  le  Cardinal 
of  the  whole  of  my  negotiations,  his  Eminence  sent 
me  fresh  instructions.  The  first  offers  he  had  made 
were  to  promise  him  a  company  in  the  Guards  and 
twenty  thousand  silver  crowns  in  ready  money,  on 
considération  of  the  surrender  of  Rocroi.  In  the  fresh 
ones,  there  were  added  twenty  thousand  more  crowns 
and  an  abbey,  together  with  an  income  of  seven  or 
eight  thousand  livres  for  one  of  his  children,  when 
old  enough  to  hold  it.  My  own  opinion  was  that, 
though  the  company  in  the  Guards  and  the  forty 
thousand  crowns  were  worth  something,  the  promise 
of  the  abbey  in  the  future  was  but  one  of  the  Cardinal's 
tricks. 

I  found  means  to  return  and  see  Montai,  as  I  had 
told  him  I  would,  on  the  pretext  of  settling  the  question 
of  the  *'  contributions."  He  received  me  well  enough  to 
give  me  some  hopes  of  his  accepting  or  refusing  my 
offers,  according  as  they  seemed  advantageous  or 
disadvantageous  to  himself;  but,  on  mv  letting  him 
VOL.   II  ig 


2go  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

know  of  the  first  proposai  I  had  to  make,  he  repulsed 
me  so  utterly  that,  though  I  had  kept  in  reserve  the 
abbey  and  the  twenty  thousand  crowns,  I  felt  at  once 
convinced  that  I  should  do  no  good  with  him.  I  had 
thought  it  best  to  imitate  those  merchants  who  always 
keep  their  best  goods  for  the  last.  Meanwhile,  I 
sought  a  way  to  inform  his  Eminence  how  matters 
were  proceeding.  This  was  difficult  enough,  for  I 
could  neither  despatch  couriers  nor  receive  any  letters. 
Being  in  this  pass,  I  played  the  part  of  a  sick  man 
and  asked  for  a  doctor.  The  physician  sent  me  by 
Montai,  either  from  ignorance  or  to  hâve  an  opportunity 
of  proving  his  own  worth,  told  this  governor  that  I 
was  very  ill.  I  complained  of  bleeding  with  violent 
internai  pains — the  truth  of  the  one  was  self-evident 
but  the  other  was  more  difficult,  since  what  goes  on 
inside  one's  body  cannot  be  seen  and  my  word  had 
to  be  taken.  Montai  had  allotted  me  a  room  at  the 
house  of  a  certain  councillor,  who  was  his  friend  and 
his  spy.  He  used  to  report  to  him  everything  which 
happened  in  the  town  and  he  did  this  so  cieverly  as 
to  excite  the  suspicions  of  no  one.  He  was  ordered 
to  watch  my  illness  and  report  how  it  went  on. 

It  must  be  understood  that,  for  one  or  two  years 
past,  I  had  been  subject  to  the  same  ailment^  which 
had  so  tortured  the  late  Cardinal  Richelieu  ;  for  this 
reason,  ail  my  linen  looked  just  as  if  it  had  been 
plunged  in  the  blood  of  a  newly  killed  ox.  This  was 
a  thing  to  thoroughly  deceive  this  councillor,  who  was 
even  more  ignorant  of  médical  than  of  légal  matters, 
though  indeed  he  knew  little  of  anything.  Accordingly, 
he  no  sooner  learnt  of  this  malady  of  mine,  whilst 
feigning  to  visit  me  solely  for  compassionate  reasons, 
I  See  Vol.  I.,  page  182. 


MEMOIRS    OF   D'ARTAGNAN  291 

than  he  sent  to  tell  the  governor  that  it  would  be  a 
miracle  if  I  ever  recovered;  consequently,  having 
succeeded  so  well,  my  looks  were  the  only  thing  which 
could  betray  me.  I  was  very  far  from  having  the 
appearance  of  a  sick  man.  I  iooked  much  more  like  a 
confessor  of  nuns,  who  is  carefully  given  a  good  bowl 
of  soup  in  the  morning,  to  keep  his  complexion  clear. 
This  being  so,  I  had  ail  the  shutters  of  my  room  closed, 
on  the  pretext  that  the  daylight  hurt  my  eyes,  and, 
when  I  heard  anyone  entering,  I  began  to  cry  out  like 
some  wretch  being  broken  on  the  wheel,  so  that  I 
might  prevent  anyone  from  staying  with  me.  At  last, 
after  having  played  this  part  for  two  or  three  days,  I 
sent  Word  to  Montai  that  I  should  certainly  die,  unless 
I  was  allowed  to  send  for  a  surgeon  from  Paris;  that  I 
knew  of  one  who  had  already  cured  me  of  the  same 
illness.  Montai  was  neither  a  native  of  Le  Mans,  nor 
a  Norman,  nor  a  Gascon,  people  who  pass  for  being 
the  cleverest  in  the  realm.  He  came  from  some  district 
near  the  river  Loire,  but  was  none  the  less  shrewd  for 
ail  that  ;  so,  whether  he  suspected  something,  or  was 
careful  to  take  précautions,  he  had  my  valet  arrested, 
after  having  given  me  permission  to  send  him  for  a 
surgeon.  This  took  place  in  a  wood  which  he  had  to 
pass  through,  this  side  of  the  first  village  out  of  Rocroi. 
At  first,  the  man  thought  that  his  captors,  who  were  only 
three  in  number,  were  robbers,  but  was  soon  disabused 
of  this  idea,  because  of  his  being  merely  searched  and 
not  robbed.  Montai  apparently  had  some  doubts  as 
to  whether  I  was  ill  or  not,  and  was  afraid  that,  if  he 
had  the  man's  money  taken,  it  might  delay  his  journey 
and  thus  cause  my  death.  Be  this  as  it  may,  nothing 
having  been  found  upon  my  servant  (for,  suspecting 

ig — 2 


292  MEMOIRE   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

what  would  happen,  I  had  told  him  with  my  own 
lips  ail  that  I  wanted  the  Cardinal  to  know),  he 
was  allowed  to  proceed  on  his  way.  After  this,  Montai 
believed  me  to  be  really  ill,  and,  having  corne  in 
person  to  see  me,  as  he  had  already  done  two  or  three 
times  before,  I  told  him  in  a  faint  voice  that,  if  it  was 
the  will  of  God  to  call  me  from  this  world,  I  should 
die  content,  provided  that  he  promised  to  return  to  the 
King's  service.  I  must  not  trifle  further  with  him; 
besides,  there  was  no  time  for  that.  I  was  empowered 
to  offer  him  up  to  forty  thousand  crowns  with  a  Com- 
pany in  the  Guards.  Besides  this,  an  abbey  should  be 
given  to  one  of  his  children.  An  offer  like  this  was 
well  worth  considering,  since  he  would  obtain  wealth 
and  réputation  at  the  same  time  as  he  would  be 
enabled  to  recover  his  honour. 

This  offer  of  mine  was  received  by  the  governor  in 
question  in  a  way  which  showed  me  it  was  no  more 
acceptable  to  him  than  the  first  one  I  had  made  had 
been.  He  soon  convinced  me  of  this  by  complaining 
of  the  small  esteem  in  which  his  Eminence  appeared 
to  hold  him.  Far  from  treating  him  as  he  had  the 
the  Comte  d'Augnon,  to  whom  he  had  given  a  bâton 
of  a  Maréchal  de  France  and  five  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  livres,  he  was  offering  him  a  paltry  forty 
thousand  crowns  and  a  post  of  about  the  same  value 
at  most.  Mayhap,  he  continued,  he  desired  by  this  to 
show  that  Rocroi  was  not  worth  Brouage,  nor  a 
Montai  as  good  as  an  Augnon;^  but  his  Eminence 
might  be  wrong,  and,  even  were  Rocroi  not  so  valuable 

I  Louis  Foncault,  Comte  d'Augnon  gave  up  Brouage  in  1653. 
Brouage,  opposite  the  island  of  Oléron,  has  now  entirely  lost  its 
former  importance  as  a  seaport. 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  293 

as  Brouage,  he  would  wish  him  to  understand  that  a 
Montai  was  the  equal  of  fifty  Augnons.  He  added, 
however,  that  he  did  not  wish  me  to  tell  the  Cardinal 
this,  because  he  liked  deeds  much  better  than  words, 
and  would  very  shortly  show  him  what  it  was  to 
underestimate  his  capabilities,  and  this,  it  would  soon 
be  seen,  was  no  mère  gasconnade.  This  he  said  in  a 
tone  which  showed  me  that  this  time  he  was  perfectly 
sincère,  and  that  he  was  speaking  his  real  mind. 
I  was  vexed  that  my  instructions  did  not  extend  any 
further,  because  I  clearly  perceived  that  that  was  ail 
now  necessary  to  win  him  over.  Meanwhile,  as  I  had 
hopes  of  my  valet  bringing  me  good  news  from  Paris, 
I  made  use  of  ail  the  best  reasons  I  could  find  to  soften 
him.  I  succeeded  but  ill,  so  angry  was  this  governor, 
and,  having  left  me  mad  with  rage,  as  far  as  I  could  see, 
with  the  Cardinal,  I  awaited  my  man's  arrivai  with  great 
impatience,  to  know  whether  I  was  to  return  to  Rhetel 
or  go  on  with  my  negotiations.  I  had  not  made  direct 
application  to  his  Eminence.  I  had  told  him  to  speak 
to  Besmaux  in  the  first  instance,  so  as  to  discover  if  he 
was  to  présent  himself  to  him.  Besmaux  had  become 
captain  of  his  guard,  Champfleuri  having  retired  dis- 
satisfied  to  a  wretched  house  of  his  near  Chevreuse, 
where  he  still  is  to-day.  I  had  instructed  my  man  as 
to  what  he  was  to  say.  He  was  first  of  ail  to  tell 
Besmaux  that  he  had  something  to  communicate  to 
his  Eminence  on  my  account,  were  he  willing  to  listen 
to  him,  and  if  this  should  not  be  the  case,  he  himself 
was  to  tell  him  that  the  horse  his  Eminence  had 
ordered  me  to  buy  would  cost  him  much  more  than  he 
thought,  so  it  was  for  him  to  judge  if  he  would  take  it 
at  such  a  price,  or  give  up  ail  thoughts  of  it.     Were  he 


294  ME  HOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

however,  to  leave  the  matter  to  me,  I  would  deal  with 
his  purse  as  with  my  own,  My  valet's  instructions 
were  to  say  no  more  than  this  in  case  of  his  speaking 
to  the  Cardinal,  and  he  did  not  know  the  purport  of 
this  message.  However,  as  he  was  no  fool,  he  had  a 
good  idea  that  thèse  words  concealed  some  mystery, 
but  what  it  exactly  was  he  could  never  tell.  My  man 
spoke  to  Besmaux  as  he  had  been  instructed,  and  the 
latter  having  announced  his  coming  to  his  master,  his 
Eminence  at  once  ordered  him  to  be  brought  into  his 
study.  He  acted  as  I  had  bidden  him,  and  the  minister 
at  once  grasping  the  meaning  of  his  words,  commanded 
him  to  remain  in  Paris  till  further  orders. 

Meanwhile,  I  still  continued  to  play  the  sick  man, 
whilst  awaiting  my  valet's  return  with  ail  the  impatience 
imaginable.  Montai  no  longer  came  to  see  me,  letting 
apparently  his  resentment  against  the  master  fall  upon 
his  emissary.  Two  days  more  than  were  necessary  for 
my  servant  to  return  in  having  elapsed,  I  became 
puzzled  as  to  the  cause,  which  anyone  might  well  hâve 
been,  but  it  was  something  which  could  not  be  guessed. 
M.  le  Cardinal,  being  incensed  against  Montai  for 
holding  out  for  such  high  terms,  had  no  sooner  left  my 
valet  than  he  secretly  informed  M.  le  Prince  that  I  was 
at  Rocroi  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  treaty  with  him, 
not  a  treaty  such  as  had  served  as  a  pretext  for  my 
voyage,  but  one  to  make  him  false  to  his  allegiance.  The 
Prince  de  Condé,  who  justly  had  great  faith  in  Montai, 
sent  word  to  the  major  of  the  fortress,  who  was  entirely 
devoted  to  him,  not  only  to  keep  watch  over  his 
conduct,  but  further,  to  arrest  everyone  going  to  or 
returning  from  Paris,  and  to  search  them,  notwith- 
standing  any  passports   they  might  be   carrying.     If 


ME  MO  1RS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 


«95 


anything  suspicious  should  be  found  on  their  persons, 
he  was  to  send  them  straight  to  him,  without  letting 
anyone  know.  The  major  duly  carried  eut  his  orders, 
and  would  hâve  placed  me  in  a  fine  fix,  as  I  will 
presently  tell,  had  it  not  been  that,  perceiving  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  with  Montai  and  the 
conséquent  uselessness  of  tarrying  longer  at  Rocroi,  I 
made  a  sudden  recovery,  and,  suspecting  what  was 
about  to  happen,  from  my  knowledge  of  the  Cardinal, 
went  off  without  awaiting  my  valet's  return. 

Montai,  whose  eyes  were  everywhere,  had  already 
perceived  how  matters  lay,  and  wrote  an  account  of  my 
visit  to  M.  le  Prince,  adding  that  he  had  not  done  so 
before,  because  the  matter  seemed  too  trifling  to  trouble 
him  with.  However,  as  I  had  eventually  proposed  to 
him  a  company  in  the  Guards,  forty  thousand  crowns, 
and  an  abbey  for  his  children,  in  considération  of  the 
surrender  of  his  fortress  to  his  Majesty,  he  thought  it 
his  duty  to  let  him  know.  The  Prince  de  Condé  deemed 
this  news  to  hâve  come  rather  late  in  the  day,  and  was 
not  too  well  pleased,  thinking  that  it  was  sent  him  only 
because  no  arrangement  had  been  come  to  between  us, 
but  in  spite  of  this,  he  dared  not  show  what  he  thought, 
from  fear  of  hurrying  on  the  treaty  with  the  Court. 
Accordingly,  he  contented  himself  with  sending  word 
to  Montai  that  he  had  known  of  ail  this  for  some  time 
past,  but  had  always  felt  sure  that  the  Cardinal  was 
wasting  his  time,  a  reply  which  surprised  the  governor. 
He  concluded  that  this  was  some  trick  of  the  Cardinal's 
to  make  him  an  object  of  suspicion,  and  fearing  lest  he 
might  send  some  spy  into  his  fortress  with  letters 
addressed  to  me,  as  if  I  were  still  there,  he  adopted  ail 
possible  means  to  prevent  them  falling  into  his  major's 


296  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

hands.  With  this  end  in  view,  he  set  one  of  his  friends, 
Mauvilli  by  name,  to  work,  with  orders  not  to  re-enter 
Rocroi  without  having  dispelled  his  fears.  Mauvilli, 
who  was  a  determined  man,  chose  nine  or  ten  soldiers 
as  brave  as  himself,  and  having  provisioned  them  for 
four  or  five  days,  prepared  to  carry  out  his  orders. 
However,  they  had  not  to  stay  away  as  long  as  that; 
for  the  Cardinal,  having  deemed  that,  after  his  warning, 
M.  le  Prince  would  not  fail  to  take  his  measures,  sent 
off  my  valet  with  a  packet  addressed  to  me,  hoping  he 
might  fall  into  an  ambuscade.  As  he  had  reason  to 
believe  that  I  had  gone  back  to  Rhetel,  he  was  afraid 
lest  my  man  should  learn  of  my  return  on  his  way  and 
not  proceed  to  Rocroi,  so  he  sent  off  another  courier 
three  hours  before  his  departure  from  Paris,  to  wait  for 
him  at  a  hostelry  at  Fismes,  at  which  the  post  made 
a  hait.  This  courier  pretended  to  my  valet  when  he 
arrived,  that  he  was  the  commander  of  a  village  two 
leagues  from  Rocroi,  and  after  having  learnt  that  he 
was  my  servant,  declared  himself  delighted  at  falling 
in  with  him,  because  he  had  a  letter  to  give  me  from 
M.  le  Cardinal,  which  had  been  in  his  keeping  for  three 
days  past  ;  he  would  therefore  beg  him  to  take  charge  of 
it,  when  he  should  proceed  on  his  way. 

My  valet  believed  ail  this,  and,  the  sham  commander 
having  prevented  him  from  discovering  if  I  had  returned 
to  Rhetel  or  not,  set  out  with  both  letters  concealed  in 
one  of  the  flaps  of  his  saddle,  without  the  slightest  idea 
of  the  trouble  in  store  for  him.  Hardly,  however,  had 
he  gone  another  league  when  he  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Mauvilli,  who  arrested  him  with  his  postillion.  The 
poor  man  wanted  to  show  the  passport  given  him  by 
Montai,  but  Mauvilli  took  not  the  least  notice  of  it, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  297 

and  led  him   into   a   neighbouring  wood.     Both   the 

postillion   and   my  man  thought  their  last  hour  had 

corne,  and   that   they  had   fallen    into   the   hands   of 

robbers,  but  they  changed  their  minds  when  they  per- 

ceived  that,  after  having  been  searched  without  their 

money  being  taken,  search  was  made  everywhere  for 

some  letter.      Mauvilli,    seeing  the   extrême   state   of 

agitation   my  valet  was   in  (for  he  feared  the  letters 

being  found),  began  to  threaten  to  kill  him  if  he  did 

not  point  out  where  they  lay  hid.      He  had  looked 

everywhere  in   vain,  and  had  not   as  yet  thought  of 

looking  in  the   saddle.     Eventually,  however,  having 

ordered  the  two  horses  to  be  unsaddled,  my  valet  con- 

fessed  everything.     Directly  he  saw  Mauvilli  beginning 

to  rip  the  flaps  open  with  his  knife,  he  threw  himself  on 

his  knees  before  him.     Mauvilli  had  both  men  bound 

to  trees,  and  having  taken  thèse  letters  to  Montai,  this 

governor  found  them  to  be  in  cipher,  and  had  them 

deciphered  by  Mauvilli  himself,  who  was  very  skilled 

in  such  matters.     The  first  letter  was  one  from  the 

Cardinal,  urging  him  to  come  to  terms  quickly  for  his 

own  sake,  and  was  written  for  the  purpose  of  falling 

into  the  hands  of  M.  le  Prince.     The  second  was  for 

me  and  promised  me  great  things,  did  I  succeed  in 

that  which  I  had  begun  so  well. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  Montal's  rage  at  the  sight 
of  thèse  two  letters;  he  sent  Mauvilli  back  to  the  wood 
with  orders  to  release  the  postillion  and  bring  my  valet 
into  the  town.  He  had  been  confined  in  a  dungeon, 
and  had  I  been  in  his  hands  Montai  would,  I  think,  hâve 
served  me  the  same  way,  so  enraged  was  he. 

After  some  délibération,  it  was  determined  that  my 
valet  should  be  sent  to  M.  le  Prince  and,  under  the 


2g8  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

escort  of  Mauvilli,  he  was  taken  across  the  Ardennes 
beyond  Philippeville  to  Namur  ;  however,  the  Prince  de 
Condé  not  being  there,  Mauvilli  was  obliged  to  proceed 
to  Brussels.  M.  le  Prince  expressed  bis  pleasure  with 
Montai  for  the  course  of  action  he  had  taken,  and 
declared  tbat  nothing  could  bave  more  clearly  demon- 
strated  bis  innocence.  He  would,  he  said,  take 
measures  to  extract  the  truth  from  the  lips  of  the 
prisoner,  who  might  not  prove  so  obstinate  wben  about 
to  be  banged.  However  it  was  not  necessary  to  put  this 
man  to  the  torture,  for,  directly  M.  le  Prince  interro- 
gated  him,  he  made  a  clean  breast  of  everything,  and 
was  near  being  allowed  to  go  scot  free,  had  it  not  been 
urged  that,  were  this  valet  released,  it  would  prove  an 
incentive  to  spying.  The  Prince  de  Condé,  though 
he  usually  cared  as  little  for  a  man's  life  as  if  he  were 
not  bis  fellow  créature,  was  inclined  in  this  instance 
towards  clemency,  but,  yielding  eventually  to  the  advice 
given  him,  he  sent  back  the  valet  to  Montai,  so  that 
the  latter  might  act  as  he  thought  fit.  The  governor 
in  question  deemed  that  bis  honour  demanded  the 
hanging  of  the  prisoner,  so,  having  carried  out  this 
exécution  in  full  daylight  in  the  présence  of  ail  bis 
garrison,  he  no  longer  felt  afraid  of  this  poor  wretch 
saying  anything  against  him,  now  that  he  had  gone  to 
another  world. 

I  learned  this  news  in  Paris,  to  which  place  I  had 
thought  it  best  to  return  when  nothing  more  was  to  be 
done  at  Rhetel.  I  was  much  grieved,  knowing  that  I 
had  been  the  cause  of  this  poor  man's  death,  but,  not 
being  able  to  mend  matters,  I  had  prayers  offered  for 
bis  soûl,  which  was  ail  which  could  now  be  done  for 
him.     I  found  that  the  Cardinal  had  completed  the 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  299 

marriage  of  his  nièce  with  M.  le  Prince  de  Conti  after 
having  corne  across  many  obstacles  both  from  M.  le 
Prince  himself  and  from  Rome.  M.  le  Cardinal  had 
not  yet  abandoned  his  idea  of  obtaining  the  company 
of  Musketeers  for  one  of  his  nephevvs  ;  the  eldest  had 
died  two  years  before.  His  Eminence  had  wept  like  a 
woman,  and  could  even  now  not  keep  the  tears  out  of 
his  eyes  when  he  spoke  of  it.  Although  the  younger 
one  was  not  so  fitted  for  the  career  of  arms  as  his 
brother,  as  he  hoped  that  he  might  become  a  living 
proof  of  the  proverb  which  says,  "that  practice 
makes  perfect,"  he  declared  one  day,  that  he  was  so 
pleased  with  me  that,  though  I  had  not  been  a  captain 
in  the  Guards  for  long,  he  did  not  intend  me  to  grow 
old  in  such  a  position.  He  wished  to  do  something 
more  for  me,  and  as  I  was  a  friend  of  M.  de  Treville's, 
I  should  try  and  get  him  to  consent  to  the  company  of 
Musketeers  being  re-established  for  someoneelse  to  com- 
mand,  so  that  the  eldest  of  his  nephews  might  obtain 
it.  As  the  latter  was  still  a  youth,  he  could  not  take 
up  such  a  post  just  yet,  so  the  future  sub-lieutenant 
would  be  its  master,  and  he  had  chosen  me  to  occupy 
that  position. 

I  was  the  more  delighted  at  this  scheme,  because  I 
had  a  worse  opinion  of  his  nephew  than  his  Eminence. 
He  was  idle  and  lazy  beyond  belief,  and  liked  only 
loafing  and  carousing.  He  was  not  stupid  however, 
nor  badly  built,  except  for  his  legs,  which  were  too  big. 
My  own  interests  being  concerned,  I  arranged  to  dine 
with  Treville  before  much  time  had  passed,  so  as  to 
try  and  make  him  more  amenable  than  he  had  pre- 
viously  been.  He  was  in  his  house  at  Grenelle,  which 
he  had  bought  specially  to  use  as  a  pleasure  resort. 


300  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

It  was  really  but  a  nice  farm,  and  entirely  devoid  of 
luxury.  However,  its  being  close  to  Paris  made  up  for 
everything  to  him.  On  my  first  visit,  a  good  many 
people  were  there  ;  so,  not  having  been  able  to  discuss 
matters,  I  returned  at  the  end  of  the  week.  I  told 
Treville  that,  as  he  was  now  quite  used  to  living  away 
from  the  Court,  the  loss  of  his  post  ought  not  to  trouble 
him  at  ail;  he  should  however  try  and  obtain  some 
compensation  for  it.  His  children  were  too  young  for 
him  ever  to  hope  to  see  them  at  the  head  of  the 
Musketeers,  but  still  something  might  be  arranged. 
I  knew  for  certain  that  M.  le  Cardinal  would  listen  to 
any  reasonable  propositions,  and,  if  he  would  confide 
matters  to  me,  he  might  rely  on  my  doing  well. 

M.  de  Treville  was  unlike  anyone  else.  My  words 
were  enough  to  make  him  think  that  M.  le  Cardinal 
had  instructed  me  to  speak  to  him.  He  made  reply 
that  his  opinion  of  my  friendship  for  him  had  greatly 
lessened,  by  reason  of  my  thus  attempting  to  be 
mysterious  with  him,  and,  when  I  sought  to  justify 
myself,  would  hâve  nothing  more  to  say  to  me  than  if 
I  had  been  a  Suisse  !  We  then  separated  mutually 
irritated  with  one  another.  It  was  easy  to  perceive 
which  of  us  two  was  in  the  wrong,  but  as  it  is  rare 
that  justice  is  done,  we  turned  the  cold  shoulder  upon 
one  another,  from  that  day  forth,  till  such  time 
as  M.  de  Treville  thought  fit  to  abate  his  irritation 
against  me. 

It  was  just  about  this  time  that  the  King  resolved  to 
strip  M.  le  Prince  of  a  post  he  had  formerly  bestowed 
upon  him  as  a  recompense  for  his  services.  Stenai, 
Dun  and  Jamets,  which  had  always  belonged  to  the 
Duc  de  Lorraine,  had  been  conquered  by  him,  and 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  301 

had  formed  part  of  the  reward  given  him  by  the  Court, 
and  measures  were  now  adopted  with  a  view  to 
bringing  thèse  places  under  the  domination  of  his 
Majesty. 

During  the  course  of  thèse  opérations,  the  Vicomte 
de  Turenne  displayed  such  great  qualities  that  the 
Court  bestowed  upon  him  the  post  of  colonel-general 
of  cavalry,  which  was  vacant  by  the  death  of  the  Duc 
de  Joyeuse.  A  thousand  people  had  wanted  to  obtain 
it,  who  were  totally  unworthy  of  holding  such  a  com- 
mand.  Bussi  Rabutin  had  even  put  in  his  claim, 
though  his  only  credentials  lay  in  having  purchased  the 
post  of  Maistre  de  Camp  Général  of  cavalry.  Indeed, 
no  one  could  tell  how  he  had  attained  his  présent 
position.  He  had  borne  arms  against  the  King  after 
the  imprisonment  of  the  Prince  de  Condé,  and  if  he  had 
desisted  from  doing  so,  it  had  been  because  the  Prince 
himself  had  not  appeared  to  value  his  services 
sufficiently  to  make  him  wish  to  follow  his  fortunes 
any  longer.  He  had  therefore  returned  to  his  allegiance 
in  spite  of  himself,  so  he  was  not,  as  may  be  imagined, 
held  in  any  great  esteem  as  a  servant  of  the  King. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  his  conceit,  which  had  already  caused 
him  to  buy  a  post  beyond  his  capacity,  making  him 
think  that  he  had  a  right  to  the  one  the  Duc  de 
Joyeuse  had  held,  not  only  did  he  ask  for  it  as  I  hâve 
just  described,  but  further,  began  to  sulk  when  he  saw 
that  the  Court  took  no  notice  of  his  demands.  He  did 
not  however  dare  to  show  his  resentment,  but,  as  the 
Vicomte  de  Turenne  understood  fighting  better  than 
making  fine  speeches,  he  determined  to  direct  his 
attacks  against  him.  The  gênerai  in  question  had  had 
some   love   affairs.     This  was   a    passion   which   was 


303  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

natural  to  him  like  other  people,  though  it  scemed  to 
suit  him  ill  enough.  He  was  always  the  dupe  of  ail 
his  mistresses,  and  indeed,  having  a  short  time  back 
tried  to  make  love  to  a  certain  princess,  she  had  jeered 
at  him  so  much,  that  he  had  been  very  much  hurt — a 
circumstance  which  had  made  him  slander  her  with  the 
resuit  of  entangling  him  with  her  relatives. 

Anyhow,  either  because  he  perceived  himself  unlucky 
in  love,  or  because,  once  in  one's  life,  it  is  as  it  were 
impossible  to  stop  oneself  from  committing  the  folly 
of  marrying,  he  had  just  married  Mademoiselle  de  la 
Force,  the  only  daughter  of  the  maréchal  of  that  name. 
She  was  a  very  good  match  both  in  birth,  property, 
and  appearance,  nor  was  she  one  of  those  Court 
coquettes,  whom  it  is  so  dangerous  to  burden  oneself 
with.  She  had  been  brought  up  under  the  wing  of 
her  father  and  mother,  who  were  both  good  Huguenots, 
and,  as  people  of  that  faith  do  not  willingly  let  their 
children  do  what  we  often  allow  ours  to  do,  everyone 
who  wanted  a  virtuous  wife  cast  their  eyes  upon  her, 
to  join  her  fortune  with  their  own.  The  sister  of  the 
Vicomte  de  Turenne  had  thought  of  Mademoiselle  de 
la  Force  for  her  son,  who  is  to-day  Duc  de  Duras,  but, 
having  let  slip  a  word  on  the  subject  to  her  br other, 
she  by  so  doing  gave  him  the  idea  of  taking  for  himself 
what  she  wanted  for  her  own  son.  Be  this  as  it  may. 
Madame  de  Duras  and  her  son,  having  not  been  able 
to  keep  from  complaining,  the  one  of  her  brother,  the 
other  of  his  uncle,  Bussi,  hearing  of  this,  took  occasion 
to  attack  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne.  The  latter  heard 
of  thèse  attacks,  and  was  so  displeased  that  he  spoke 
very  strongly  to  him  on  the  subject.  Bussi  took  the 
course   of  denying   everything,  and    the    Vicomte   de 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  303 

Turenne,  who  understood  no  joking  and  well  knew  the 
State  of  affairs,  replied  that  he  was  satisfied,  since  he 
disclaimed  to  his  face  what  he  had  said  behind  his 
back,  but  for  himself,  were  he  ever  to  circulate  any 
stories  of  people,  he  would  support  them  even  at  the 
cost  of  his  Hfe.  One  would  hâve  thought  that,  after 
this  lesson  from  the  gênerai,  Bussi  Rabutin  would  no 
longer  hâve  dared  to  do  anything  further  of  the  same 
kind,  but  nevertheless,  he  attempted  to  meddle  with 
military  matters,  so  as  to  annoy  M.  de  Turenne.  The 
latter,  however,  who  was  of  such  a  modest  disposition, 
that  one  would  never  hâve  thought,  to  look  at  him,  that 
he  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  of  the  first 
Crown  in  the  universe,  left  the  settlement  of  this  affair 
to  the  Court,  and  Bussi  had  no  cause  to  be  pleased 
with  its  décision.  His  claims  were  set  aside,  so  much 
so  that,  perceiving  himself  chaffed  on  ail  sides,  he  tried 
to  save  himself  by  the  slanders  which  he  still  secretly 
continued  to  circulate. 


VIII 


HE  campaign  of  1654  being  ended,  M.  le 
Cardinal  sent  me  once  again  into  England 
incognito,  so  that  I  might  give  him  an  exact 
report  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  in  that  country. 
Although  there  were'but  a  hundred  leagues 
between  Paris  and  the  capital  of  that  realm,  one 
would  hâve  said  there  were  ten  thousand,  so 
différent  were  the  reports  which  came  to  hand.  Some 
insisted  that  Cromwell  was  looked  upon  only  as  a 
usurper,  and  was  so  hated  by  the  populace,  that  he 
kept  his  position  by  violence  and  cruelty  alone.  Others, 
on  the  contrary,  declared  that  he  was  adored  to  such 
an  extent  that  there  was  no  one  in  the  three  kingdoms 
who  would  not  willingly  hâve  sacrificed  himself  for 
his  sake.  It  was  important  for  his  Eminence  to  know 
for  certain  which  of  thèse  two  parties  spoke  the  truth. 
This  was  nevertheless  not  so  much  because  of  affairs 
of  State,  as  on  account  of  his  own  private  matters. 
Indeed,  I  think  that  thèse  latter  affected  him  far  more 
than  anything  else,  and  as,  since  M.  le  Prince  had 
gone  away,  he  had  found  means  to  appease  the  Parle- 
ment by  bestowing  pensions  or  faveurs  upon  those  of 
its  members  who  were  most  influential,  he  now  saw 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  305 

nothing  further  in  the  way  of  his  schémas.  He  had 
got  such  ideas  into  his  head  about  his  nièces,  that  he 
intended  to  create  as  many  new  sovereigns  as  there 
remained  to  him  nièces  to  marry  !  At  ail  events,  the 
Crown  of  England  seeming  to  him  not  one  of  the  most 
insignificant  of  those  which  might  fall  on  anyone's 
head,  he  was  anxious  to  know  to  whom  he  should 
offer  a  nièce — to  the  King  of  England,  or  to  a  son  of 
Cromwell  ?  His  Eminence  had,  besides,  a  far  more 
ridiculous  fancy  than  this.  I  hâve  it  on  good  authority, 
and  know  it  from  the  Bishop  of  Fréjus,  his  confidant. 
He  proposed,  in  the  event  of  succeeding  in  making  a 
Queen  of  England  of  the  girl,  to  soon  after  make 
another  nièce  Queen  of  France.  He  also  told  the 
prelate  in  question,  as  I  hâve  heard  further  from  him, 
that,  this  once  done,  a  plank  would  hâve  been  laid  down 
which  would  make  him  speak  much  more  boldly  to  his 
Majesty.  He  would  hâve  no  scruple  about  proposing 
that  he  should  marry  the  sister  of  a  queen,  and  the 
King  himself  could  hâve  none,  since  another  would 
hâve  shown  him  the  way.  Indeed,  from  that  day  forth, 
he  began  to  look  upon  ail  the  nobles  of  the  realm  as 
unworthy  of  being  allied  to  him.  He  even  became 
vexed  at  having  bestowed  a  nièce  upon  the  Duc  de 
Mercœur,  deeming  that,  when  one  had  hopes  of  marry- 
ing  her  sisters  to  two  such  great  kings  as  were  those 
of  France  and  England,  the  son  of  a  bastard  was  too 
insignificant  to  be  connected  with. 

His  Eminence  showed  no  knowledge  of  the  King 
when  he  thought  him  capable  of  such  baseness.  Never 
had  prince  finer  sentiments  than  he  !  However,  what 
had  originated  this  idea  of  his  was,  that  he  had 
observed  that  the  Queen  of  England,  an  aunt  of  his 
VOL.  II  20 


3o6  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Majesty,  had  not  herself  scrupled  to  hâve  proposais 
made  for  the  marriage  of  her  son  with  the  eldest  of  the 
Mancinis  yet  unmarried.  She  had  nevertheless,  felt 
much  répugnance  to  doing  this,  still  retaining  a  royal 
heart  in  her  misfortunes,  and  one  which  secretly  re- 
proached  her  with  this  alliance,  being  in  no  way  suited 
to  the  grandeur  of  her  rank  ;  but,  as  she  was  surrounded 
by  people  who  sought  but  to  pay  court  to  the  minister, 
so  as  to  obtain  some  of  his  favours,  she  had  let  herself 
be  brought  to  believe  them,  the  more  so  on  account  of 
their  having  maintained  that,  otherwise,  her  son  would 
never  remount  his  throne.  As  this  affair  had  been 
dragging  on  for  a  long  time,  but  was  proceeding  now 
more  briskly  than  ever,  his  Eminence  wished  me  to  set 
out  at  once  for  England,  so  that  he  might  take  the 
necessary  measures  according  to  what  I  should  report 
on  my  return.  He  made  me  come  into  his  study  on 
the  eve  of  my  departure,  and  there  said  everything  to 
me  which  he  thought  likely  to  cause  me  to  be  of  use  to 
him.  Accordingly,  as  one  always  measures  others  by 
one's  own  standard,  and  as  nothing  affected  him  like 
avarice,  he  told  me  that  this  matter  concerned  me  as 
much  as  himself,  because  great  benefit  might  accrue  to 
me  through  it.  I  must  then  take  good  care  not  to  be 
deceived.  He  intended,  continued  he,  to  hâve  me 
given  the  first  post  in  the  household  of  his  nièce, 
directly  she  should  become  Queen,  from  which  I  might 
imagine  how  greatly  my  interests  lay  in  securing  a 
throne  for  her. 

This  minister  apparently  thought,  from  his  way  of 
talking,  that  I  was  a  man  to  be  satisfied  with  chimeras. 
I  knew,  better  than  he  had  an}'  idea  of,  how  England 
was  governed.     I  knew,  I  repeat,  that  even  were  he  to 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  307 

succeed  in  his  plans,  it  would  not  hâve  been  in  his 
power  to  appoint  any  officer  for  his  nièce.    The  English 
are  a  little  toc  jealous  of  strangers  to  allow  such  a 
thing.     However,  as  it  was  not  my  own  interests  which 
made  me  set  out,  I  made  reply  that  it  was  unnecessary 
for  him  to  hold   out  any  rewards  to   me,  for   I  was 
entirely  devoted  to  him,  and  would  before  longprove  it, 
and  besides,  I  was  born  a  good  Frenchman,  and,  did  it 
rest  only  with  me  to  obtain  the  greatest  fortune  in  the 
world  amongst  foreigners,  I  would  not  renounce  my 
own  country.     I  preferred  to  remain  plain  captain  in 
the  Guards  there  than   colonel  of   Guards  anywhere 
else,  and  especially  in  a  country  where  the  people  were 
wont,  as  their   history  taught  me,   to  dethrone  their 
kings  when  the  fancy  seized  them.     M.  le  Cardinal 
rejoined  that,  if  I  set  out  with  such  ideas,  I  ran  great 
•risk   of    bringing    back   but   bad   news.      With   such 
sentiments  I  could  hâve  no  great  esteem  for  Cromwell, 
and  should  be  too  apt  to  think  he  was  hated,  because  I 
disHked  him  myself.     Meanwhile,  he  wanted  to  make 
me  realise  that,  if  ail  usurpers  were  to  be  hated,  my 
King  would   come  first.     The  descendants  of  Hugh 
Capet,  from  whom  he  sprang,  had  usurped  the  Crown 
of  France  from  those  of  Charlemagne,  to  whom   it 
legitimately  belonged.     They,  in  turn,  had  done  the 
same  thing  for  the  Merovingians,  so,  according  to  my 
ideas,    it   was   neither  to   the  Carlovingians   nor  the 
Capetians  that  our  Crown  by  right  belonged.     I  must 
know,  however,  that  what  at  first  appeared  tyrannical 
became  just  in  the  sequel,  for  time  rectified  ail  things, 
and  so,  with  a  little  patience,  a  usurper  and  even  a 
tyrant  became  a  legitimate  King.     He  would,  there- 
fore,  hâve  me  like  Cromwell  if  the  English  liked  him, 

20 — 2 


3o8  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

and  hâte  him  if  they  hated  him.  This  was  the  touch- 
stone  I  must  make  use  of  to  discover  if  he  reigned 
over  them  legitimately,  for  on  this  alone  did  it  dépend 
to  know  if  his  posterity  should  succeed  him  or  not, 
just  as  our  kings  had  succeeded  their  fathers. 

I  thought  this  line  of  thought  wonderful  and  well 
worthy  of  him.  Nevertheless,  Cromwell  was  not  yet 
a  king,  though  he  would  much  hâve  liked  to  hâve  been 
one,  and  ail  he  had  been  able  to  effect  was  to  hâve 
himself  declared  Protector  of  the  three  Kingdoms.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  after  having  heard  this  speech  of  the 
Cardinal's,  I  would  not  contradict  him.  On  the  con- 
trary,  I  assured  him  that  I  hated  Cromwell  less  as 
an  individual  than  ail  his  countrymen  in  gênerai.  I 
accordingly  set  out  for  England  for  the  third  time, 
with  orders  not  to  show  myseJf  before  our  ambassador. 
At  that  time^  M.  de  Bordeaux,  son  of  M.  de  Bordeaux, 
Intendant  des  Finances,  occupied  this  position.  He 
was  a  little  man,  very  vain,  and  one  who  was  accus- 
tomed  to  say  (so  conceited  was  he)  that  there  was  not 
a  virtuous  woman  in  the  world.  Ail  his  success,  how- 
ever,  in  that  country  was  limited  to  having  debauched 
the  daughter  of  an  officer  of  the  late  King,  with  whom 
he  kept  up  an  intimacy,  which  was  scandalous  enough 
for  an  ambassador.  After  having  married  her  off  to 
one  of  his  relations,  who  was  a  young  fool,  and  whose 
only  bravery  lay  in  his  sword,  he  had  sent  him  back  to 
France  and  kept  a  sort  of  household  with  his  wife. 

^  The  position  of  the  French  Ambassador  in  London  at  this 
time  was  one  of  great  difficulty,  and  Hume,  in  his  "  History  of  the 
House  of  Stuart,"  pays  a  tribute  to  his  patience.  In  the  Treaty, 
which  was  signed  after  long  negotiation,  the  Protector's  name 
was  inserted  before  the  French  King'sinthat  copy  whichremained 
in  England.     See  "  Thurloe,"  vol.  vi,  p.  ii6. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  309 

He  drank  f.nd  ate  with  her,  and  ail  the  différence  there 
was  between  his  way  of  life  and  that  he  might  hâve 
led  with  a  wife  was  that  they  did  not  live  together. 
The  Cardinal  knew  of  this  fine  life,  which  made  respect- 
able folks  talk,  for  they  did  not  think,  and  they  were 
quite  right,  that  it  at  ail  suited  a  man  in  his  position. 
However,  much  did  his  Eminence  care  for  that,  pro- 
vided  he  did  not  ask  for  any  money  for  his  salary.  He 
had  adopted  the  course  of  giving  none  to  some 
ambassadors,  and  would  tell  them,  when  they  asked 
for  it,  that  they  did  not  deserve  what  he  did  for  them, 
for  there  were  many  people  in  the  Kingdom  who  would 
consider  themselves  too  lucky  to  be  spending  ail  their 
money,  provided  they  occupied  such  a  position  as  the 
one  he  had  bestowed  upon  them.  Their  name,  he 
added,  would  go  down  in  history,  instead  of  which  it 
would  hâve  remained  enveloped  in  darkness  and  dust, 
unless  he  had  been  good  enough  to  bring  it  forth. 

He  was  right  to  speak  in  this  way  of  M.  de  Bordeaux, 
who  was  a  nobody,  and  whose  father  had  founded  the 
fortunes  of  his  house.  But,  as  he  was  wont  to  say  the 
same  about  people  of  distinction  and  rank  like 
M.  d'Argenson,  who  was  Ambassador  at  Venice,  it 
was  easy  to  perceive  that  it  was  avarice  alone  which 
inspired  such  speeches.  Nevertheless,  as  nothing  is  so 
pernicious  as  an  evil  example,  it  happened  that  M.  de 
Brienne,  who  was  not  a  conjuror,  though  he  occupied 
a  position  which  required  unusual  gifts  (since  it  lay 
with  him  to  speak  and  write  letters  to  the  ambassa- 
dors), it  happened,  I  repeat,  that  he  formed  such  a 
poor  estimate  of  M.  d'Argenson,  though  a  more  capable 
man  than  himself,  that  on  his  death  several  packets  of 
letters  from  that  Excellency  were  found  amongst  his 


3X0  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

papers  which  he  had  never  troubled  to  open  !  This 
was  how  the  King  was  served  at  that  time.  There 
was  as  minister  a  man  who  did  not  even  pay  am- 
bassadors,  who  ought,  nevertheless,  to  be  paid  more 
highly  and  more  regularly  than  others,  since,  whatever 
their  stipend  may  be,  none  escape  ruining  themselves 
in  that  kind  of  position.  This,  I  repeat,  is  how  the 
affairs  of  the  King  were  conducted  !  A  minister  of 
such  a  kind,  and  a  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs  so  neglectful  as  not  to  open  the  despatches  of 
ambassadors.  It  is,  as  it  were,  incredible  ;  so  much  so 
that  it  seems  a  kind  of  miracle  how  the  Kingdom,  with 
so  many  formidable  enemies  without,  and  servants  of 
this  sort  within,  has  been  able  to  préserve  itself  in  the 
glorious  position  in  which  we  see  it  at  this  day. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  M.  de  Bordeaux  being  a  man  of 
this  kind,  I  could  easily  hâve  avoided  him,  since  I 
should  only  hâve  had  to  keep  away  from  where  his 
mistress  (in  whose  house  he  was  every  hour  and 
minute)  lived,  had  it  not  been  that,  when  one  least 
expects  them,  unavoidable  things  happen.  Some  days 
after  setting  foot  in  England,  I  went  in  the  evening  to 
a  merchant's,  who  sold  Indian  stuffs.  I  wanted  to  buy 
a  dress  for  a  lady  of  Paris,  to  whom  I  had  promised  to 
send  one  from  England.  My  weakness  and  lack  of 
discrétion  had  been  the  cause  of  the  promise.  As  I 
was  fond  of  her,  and  from  my  disposition  could  never 
do  without  a  mistress,  she  had  pressed  me  so  hard  to 
say  where  I  was  going,  after  I  had  told  her  that  I 
should  be  away  for  a  month  or  more  mayhap,  that, 
after  having  at  first  tried  to  keep  my  destination  secret, 
I  had  not  eventually  been  able  to  help  telling  her. 
She  had  then  begged  me  to  send  her  this  dress,  and,  as 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  311 

I  have  always  been  a  man  of  my  word,  I  believe  that 
it  vvas  the  day  after  my  arrivai  that  I  went  to  the 
merchant's  I  have  mentioned.  On  my  entry  there  was 
no  one  of  importance  in  the  shop,  but  a  moment  later 
I  perceived  a  magnificently  dressed  lady  of  great  beauty 
make  her  appearance.  She  was,  besides,  of  very  con- 
sidérable height  indeed,  so  much  so  that  it  rather 
spoiled  than  improved  her.  However,  as,  when  a  face 
is  pleasing,  nothing  else  matters  to  one,  I  delayed  my 
bargaining,  so  as  to  have  the  pleasure  of  looking  longer 
at  her.  She  asked  for  the  material  for  an  entire  dress, 
and,  judging  from  the  livery  of  her  servant,  which  was 
very  fine,  and  the  respect  paid  her  by  the  merchant, 
that  she  must  be  a  person  of  rank,  I  fell  in  love  with 
her  in  a  moment. 

The  fact  of  the  lady's  continuing  to  ask  for  finer 
stuffs,  none  of  those  shown  her  proving  rich  enough, 
gave  so  much  employment  to  the  shopmen,  that  I  was 
not  much  pressed  to  buy  what  I  was  bargaining  for.  I 
could  thus  look  at  her  at  my  ease,  and  falling  more 
and  more  in  love  every  minute,  my  eyes  were  so  fixed 
upon  her,  that  she  had  no  trouble  in  divining  what  was 
passing  in  my  heart.  This  made  her  eye  me  the  more 
attentively,  and  though  I  was  not  dressed  to  advantage, 
she  nevertheless  thought  me  well  made,  as  she  herself 
told  me  some  days  later.  She  at  once  concluded  that 
I  was  a  foreigner  and  even  a  Frenchman,  and  having  a 
moment  later  whispered  in  the  shopwoman's  ear,  told 
her  to  find  out  from  me.  I  could  never  have  guessed 
she  was  saying  this,  for  she  had  taken  good  care  to 
turn  her  eyes  away  from  me  .first  and  cast  them  else- 
where.  She  even  told  the  woman  to  act  discreetly  so 
that  I  might  suspect  nothing.     The  shopwoman,  who 


312  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

did  not  belie  the  réputation  which  nearly  ail  her 
countrywomen  hâve  of  being  very  shrewd,  exactly 
followed  her  instructions,  indeed,  so  cleverly  did  she 
proceed,  that  one  would  hâve  had  to  hâve  been  very 
sharp  to  detect  her  intention.  She  begged  my  pardon 
for  not  attending  to  me  as  quickly  as  she  might  hâve 
wished,  and  was  indeed  requisite  for  one  of  her  calling. 
The  entry  of  this  lady  was  the  cause;  but,  for  two 
reasons  which  she  thoroughly  relied  upon,  she  hoped 
I  would  forgive  her.  One  was,  that  no  Cavaliers  like 
myself  would  ever  be  annoyed  at  ladies  being  served 
first,  especially  when  as  beautiful  as  this  lady,  the 
other,  that  being  a  Frenchman,  as  she  believed,  I 
excelled  the  men  of  ail  other  nations  in  politeness  and 
courtesy,  especially  towards  everyone  of  her  sex. 

If  there  was  anything  in  this  speech  of  hers  to  betray 
her,  it  was  at  most  its  being  made  by  an  Englishwoman 
to  a  Frenchman,  the  ladies  of  that  country  not  being 
too  fond  of  us.  For,  whatever  other  people  may  say 
about  it,  I  for  my  part  know  that,  in  common  with  ail 
the  men  of  that  nation,  though  liking  gallantry  as  much 
as  any  women  in  the  world,  they  are  secretly  jealous 
of  us.  Nevertheless,  her  position  of  shopwoman,  which 
entailed  her  flattering  everyone,  having  banished  any 
suspicions  I  might  hâve  had,  I  admitted  not  only  that 
I  was  a  Frenchman,  but  further  that  she  could  serve 
me  in  no  better  way  than  by  waiting  upon  the  lady  with- 
out  paying  any  attention  to  me.  Nor  did  I  forget,  as 
can  easily  be  imagined  without  my  saying  so,  to  drop 
a  Word  about  the  beauty  of  the  lady.  The  lady  herself 
then  spoke,  telling  me  that  from  ail  appearance  I  did 
not  wish  to  give  the  lie  to  the  shopwoman  about  what 
she   had    said  in   favour   of  my   nation.     A   Frencb, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  313 

Swedish,  or  Danish  woman  would  hâve  been  more 
restrained  in  her  talk,  and,  if  possessed  of  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  life,  would  hâve  pretended  not  to  hâve 
paid  the  least  attention  to  what  had  been  said.  I  say 
nothing  of  Spanish  and  Itahan  women,  who  are  even 
more  circumspect  still  and  better  actresses  than  the 
others.  Be  this  as  it  may,  her  answer  having  given 
me  a  chance  of  paying  her  a  formai  compliment,  my 
words  were  no  more  unpleasant  to  her  than  my  appear- 
ance  had  been.  I  perceived  this  plainly  enough,  for  she 
at  once  told  me  to  come  and  help  the  merchant  cheat 
her,  and,  when  a  bargain  was  struck,  she  in  turn  would 
help  me  to  complète  mine,  always  provided  that  I 
should  first  tell  her  for  whom  it  was  that  I  wanted  to 
buy  the  stuff  for  whieh  I  was  now  bargaining. 

I  was  not  vexed  at  her  curiosity,  flattering  myself,  as 
I  had  none  too  bad  an  opinion  of  my  own  merits  (in 
which  I  resembled  M.  de  Bordeaux),  that  mayhap  a 
little  jealousy  inspired  her  question.  I  did  not  how- 
ever  answer  her  frankly,  declaring  that  the  stuff  was 
intended  for  a  sister  of  mine  in  Gascony.  The  lady 
enquired  if  she  was  pretty,  and  upon  my  answering  no 
and  that  ail  I  would  say  was,  that  we  were  supposed 
to  be  80  much  alike  that  our  dresses  alone  distinguished 
us,  she  rejoined  that,  if  this  was  so,  she  did  not  pity  her 
husband.  I  rejoined  that  my  sister  was  unmarried 
and  but  seventeen  years  old,  upon  which  she  said  that 
she  must  then  hâve  many  lovers,  and  that  I  seemed  to 
be  forgetting  a  thing  which  was  of  great  importance. 
I  was  about  to  be  the  cause,  by  further  enhancing  her 
beauty  with  the  stuff  I  was  going  to  send  her,  of  a 
number  of  deaths  in  my  province,  and  she  was  glad  to 
warn  me  of  it,  lest  I  should  be  answerable  to  Heaven  for 


314  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

them.     I  must  look  to  it,  for  after  her  warning  there 
would  be  no  excuse  to  be  found  for  me. 

Nothing  could  hâve  been  more  charming  than  this 
speech,  especially  after  my  having  said  that  we  were 
so  alike.  But  as  it  was  made  by  an  Englishwoman, 
and  the  women  of  that  nation  are  wont  to  say  a 
number  of  things  which  other  people  would  not  say,  I 
did  not  feel  unduly  elated,  but  determined  to  judge  of 
my  happiness  or  misery  by  what  should  take  place 
later  on.  Meanwhile,  after  the  lady  had  concluded 
the  bargain  and  helped  me  to  finish  mine,  as  she  had 
promised,  she  allowed  me  to  extend  my  hand  to  help 
her  get  into  the  carriage  which  had  brought  her.  I 
thought  I  should  find  a  magnificent  one  at  the  shop 
door,  such  as  the  English  hâve  always  had  up  to  now, 
but  instead  of  the  triumphal  car  which  I  expected  I 
found  only  what  is  called  a  hackney^  coach  in  that 
country.  A  hackney  coach  is  a  hired  carriage,  not 
like  those  which  we  hâve  in  France,  which  are  clean 
enough  and  which  we  call  carosses  de  remise,  but  a 
wretched  cab,  such  as  those  we  see  to-day  on  the  Place 
du  Palais  Royale,  or  before  the  Église  des  Grands 
Augustins.  This  surprised  me,  for  although  men  of 
rank  in  England  do  not  scruple  to  go  in  thèse  kind 
of  vehicles,  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  ladies,  who 
are  more  particular.  It  would  hâve  almost  made  me 
form  a  strange  opinion  of  this  woman,  had  I  been  in 
France,  for,  knowing  that  there  is  nothing  so  like  a 
person  of  rank  as  certain  courtesans,  I  should  hâve 
half  believed  her  to  hâve  been  one.  I  should  indeed  not 
hâve  known  what  to  say,  so  suspicions  did  things  look, 

I  This  is  the  earliest  known  mention  of  a  hackney  coach; 
see  "  Notes  and  Queries"  for  November  igth,  1898, 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  315 

had  I  not  noticed  the  shopman  pay  her  unusual  défér- 
ence. Be  this  as  it  may,  wanting  to  leave  the  lady 
after  having  put  her  into  the  carriage,  I  was  thoroughly 
astounded  by  her  bidding  me  get  in  with  her.  Having 
done  her  bidding,  she  told  me  that  she  wished  me  to 
do  her  a  service.  I  thought  that  she  was  about  to  ask 
me  without  ceremony  for  that  which  a  woman  usually 
requires  when  very  hard  pressed,  but  it  was  for  some- 
thing  quite  différent.  She  declared  that  she  wanted 
me  to  come  and  visit  her  father,  and  tell  him  that  I  had 
seen  her  husband  in  France,  and  that  he  had  given  me 
a  positive  assurance  that  he  would  come  and  join  her 
at  the  end  of  April.  It  was  now  January,  and  seeing 
me  completely  mystified,  the  lady  went  on  to  say  that 
everyone  was  not  like  myself,  who  had  been  so  polite.  She 
had  been  married  against  her  father's  will  to  a  French- 
man,  who  had  left  her  because  he  had  found  her  poorer 
than  he  had  expected  before  marriage. 

As  it  happened,  this  lady  chanced  to  be  the  mistress 
of  M.  de  Bordeaux,  but  she  took  good  care  to  make 
no  mention  whatever  of  him,  and  I  for  my  part  was 
totally  ignorant  that  such  was  the  case.  Nevertheless, 
I  formed  the  opinion  that,  if  the  Frenchman  had  gone 
away,  it  had  been  for  some  other  reason  than  the  one 
she  was  giving.  I  knew  that  England  was  just  as  full 
of  horned  cattle  as  France,  and  that,  though  there  were 
very  fine  bulls  and  cows  there,  there  were  other  animais 
besides,  which  were  in  no  wise  less  magnificent. 

This  thought  rather  cooled  my  ardour.  If  I  loved 
ladies  to  distraction,  adventuresses,  amongst  whom  I 
already  included  this  woman,  had  no  charm  for  me.  I 
deemed  them  ail  as  crafty  as  the  Devil,  in  which  I  was 
not   far   wrong.     I   looked  upon  them  as   debauched 


3i6  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

créatures,  and  as  such,  unworthy  of  the  attachment  of 
an  honourable  man.  Nor  was  I  of  a  disposition  ever 
to  run  the  same  risk  for  them  as  did  one  day  the  Duc 
de  Bellegarde,  to  avoid  being  found  by  Henri  le  Grand 
with  la  belle  Gabrielle,  when  he  took  the  trouble  to 
jump  out  of  the  window  into  the  garden  of  the  Hôtel 
de  Vendôme.  Women  of  this  kind  do  not  deserve  that 
people  should  break  their  necks  on  their  account. 
One  can  do  no  more  for  a  pretty  lady  who  has  com- 
merce only  with  her  husband  ;  indeed  I  would  not  jump 
down  a  foot  for  any  of  them.  In  spite  of  this,  I  am 
ignorant  why  I  draw  such  a  distinction  between  the 
two  classes.  The  woman  who  has  but  her  husband 
must  be  just  the  same  as  she  who  has  one  gallant  only. 
Both  hâve  but  a  single  man,  and  if  the  matter  is  care- 
fully  thought  over,  it  seems  as  if  the  one  should  be 
blamed  no  more  than  the  other  by  a  lover,  for  both  are 
equally  unfaithful.  Indeed,  the  woman  who  wants  a 
gallant  as  well  as  a  husband  seems  to  me  the  more 
guilty  of  the  two.  She  has  sworn  fidelity  before 
Heaven,  and  is  breaking  her  oath,  whilst  the  other  has 
but  sworn  it  in  the  gutter  or  behind  her  bed-curtains. 
Besides,  the  God  of  Love,  whom  she  has  invoked  as 
witness,  is  quite  used  to  see  ail  the  promises  made 
him  broken,  for  the  streets  are  chock-fuU  of  unfaithful 
swains  and  their  loves.  Be  this  as  it  may,  a  mistress 
is  less  unfaithful  than  a  wife,  and  so,  less  to  be 
despised. 

However,  to  be  serious — the  lady  having  thoroughly 
instructed  me  whilst  we  drove  along — in  due  course  we 
reached  her  father's  house.  I  found  him  to  be  a  worthy 
gentleman,  but  a  little  rough.  He  listened  to  what 
I  had  to  say,  and  made  reply  that  he  believed  my  story, 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  317 

because  I  looked  as  if  I  belonged  to  the  family  of  the 
absent  husband.  I  did  not  at  first  understand  his 
meaning,  and  answered  that  I  had  not  the  honour  in 
question.  *'  If  you  are  not  the  relative  of  my  son-in-law," 
rejoined  he,  "  you  are  closely  related  to  my  daughter, 
and,  when  ail  is  said  and  done,  that  is  pretty  much  the 
same  thing."  By  this  I  understood  him  to  mean  that  I 
was  quite  able  to  take  the  husband's  place  during  his 
absence.  My  position  now  appeared  somewhat  diffi- 
cult.  He  had  two  big  boys  by  his  side  who  were  like 
regular  "  white  rocks."  Both  looked  as  if  they  had  sent 
as  many  English  into  the  next  world  as  the  English 
had  Frenchmen.  I  even  thought  that  they  would  not 
hâve  had  more  scruple  about  attacking  a  person  from 
behind  his  back  than  the  English  sometimes  had  about 
being  two  against  one.  Mayhap  I  was  wrong,  since 
people  must  never  be  judged  by  appearances.  Besides, 
even  had  the  Duke  of  York  been  their  patron,  as 
Monsieur  was  of  the  French,  he  might  not  hâve  perhaps 
been  able,  as  the  latter  was,  to  save  them  firom  the 
hangnian. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  seeing  that  I  must  carefully  weigh 
my  words,  I  told  the  father  that  I  was  no  relative  of 
either  husband  or  wife,  the  latter  of  whom  indeed  I  had 
met  for  the  first  time  but  two  hours  ago.  He  repHed, 
as  roughly  as  before,  that  that  was  of  no  conséquence, 
for  she  was  a  good  girl,  and  a  short  or  long  acquaint- 
ance  with  her  made  no  différence.  Her  appetite  was 
so  keen,  added  he,  that  she  would  hâve  deemed  it  an 
injustice  to  herself  to  refuse  anybody.  This  was  a 
thing  for  me  to  look  to,  for  he  should  be  sorry  that 
I  should  be  deceived. 

The  poor  woman  was  very  confused  at  hearing  him 


3i8  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

speak  thus,  and  would  hâve  given  agood  deal  to  be  able 
to  hâve  begun  matters  ail  over  again.  Nevertheless,  she 
kept  winking  at  me  in  a  w^ay  I  did  not  understand. 
Indeed,  I  was  in  despair  at  her  doing  so,  being  afraid 
of  the  father  and  sons  perceiving  it  and  picking  a 
quarrel  with  me.  She  said  not  one  v^ord  however, 
being  apparently  afraid  of  a  thrashing,  for  there  was 
no  joking  with  the  man  nor  his  children.  They  were 
honourable  folk  and  could  not  bear  the  lady's  connec- 
tion with  the  ambassador.  Meanwhile,  I  awaited  the 
end  of  this  scène  with  some  appréhension.  I  was 
wishing  myself  far  away,  when  the  brothers  enquired 
how  I  knew  the  husband  of  their  sister,  and  according 
to  the  instructions  she  had  given  me,  I  replied  that  I 
came  from  the  same  neighbourhood  and  had  stayed  at 
the  same  hostelry  with  him  in  Paris  before  setting  out. 
They  at  once  began  to  abuse  their  brother-in-law,  and 
cautioned  me  against  believing  a  word  of  what  he  might 
hâve  told  me,  adding,  that  he  never  spoke  the  truth, 
and,  were  ail  Frenchmen  like  him,  there  would  be  no 
cause  for  astonishment  at  their  being  hated  in  a 
thousand  places  as  they  were.  As,  however,  I  had 
never  seen  their  brother-in-law,  I  cannot  say  whether 
they  spoke  truth  or  falsehood. 

They  continued  in  the  same  strain  for  some  time, 
the  old  man  occasionally  joining  in  thèse  attacks  on 
his  son-in-law.  Meanwhile,  the  lady  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity  to  gently  withdraw.  I  was  much  aetonished  to 
find  her  gone,  and,  had  I  been  in  France,  should 
certainly  hâve  thought  that  ail  this  was  but  a  plot 
got  up  to  assassinate  me.  However,  as  the  English, 
cruel  as  they  may  be,  are  not  given  to  those  kind  of 
things  which  so  often  happen  in  Paris,  and  which  dis- 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  319 

honour  our  nation,  I  was  somewhat  reassured,  for  I 
saw  nothing  in  either  the  father  or  the  sons  to  cause 
me  to  fear  a  trap.  At  length,  when  they  had  had  their 
say  without  any  contradiction  from  myself,  I  thought 
the  time  had  corne  for  me  to  départ.  I  was  afraid  of 
nothing  except  being  detained,  but,  my  appréhension 
proving  groundless,  I  got  into  the  street  without 
further  ado.  Nevertheless,  I  was  curious  enough  to 
occasionally  cast  a  glance  behind  me  to  see  if  I  was 
followed,  and,  perceiving  a  girl  hurrying  along  with 
her  eyes  directed  at  me,  I  got  into  a  doorway  to  let 
her  pass,  in  case  she  might  be  looking  for  someone  else. 
However,  she  began  to  slacken  her  speed,  and,  coming 
up  to  me,  I  awaited  her  with  a  stout  heart,  curious  as 
to  how  ail  this  might  end. 

I  had  not  been  deceived,  for  she  had  come  from  the 
lady  who  awaited  me  four  paces  away,  and  had,  so  the 
girl  said,  something  to  say  to  me  which  it  would  not 
displease  me  to  hear.  I  was  near  saying  that  I  had  no 
answer  to  give  to  this,  but,  considering  that  this  would 
be  acting  rudely,  I  bade  the  girl  lead  the  way  and 
I  would  follow.  She  stopped  at  a  certain  door  and 
wished  me  to  enter  the  house,  in  which  she  declared 
her  mistress  was  awaiting  me.  Having,  however,  little 
désire  to  be  once  more  shut  up,  I  somewhat  ungallantly 
told  the  maid  to  ask  her  mistress  to  come  down,  as  a 
sprain  prevented  my  going  any  further.  At  the  same 
time,  I  feigned  lameness,  and  the  girl,  who  was  none 
too  sharp,  believing  my  story,  did  as  I  had  told  her. 
The  lady  eventually  appeared,  and  tried  to  make  me 
crédit  that  what  her  father  had  said  was  but  caused  by 
the  effects  of  drink.  He  was,  she  added,  constantly 
drunk,  and  when  in  that  state  had  no  idea  what  he 


320  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

was  doing  or  saying,  so  much  so  that  people  who  knew 
him  paid  no  attention  to  his  words.  In  short,  it  was 
net  her  fault  that  I  did  net  attribute  everything  I  had 
heard  to  the  effects  of  Bacchus,  but,  net  being  so 
foolish  as  she  thought,  I  formed  my  own  opinion 
without  saying  anything  rude  to  her.  In  the  mean- 
time,  as  my  ardour  seemed  to  hâve  cooled  since  I  had 
lefit  the  shop,  and  as  I  appeared  to  be  not  over  eager  to 
enter  her  house,  she  proposed  to  accompany  me  to 
mine.  This  was  a  choice  of  two  evils,  for,  on  leaving 
the  merchants,  she  had  had  my  stuff  placed  in  her 
carriage  by  one  of  her  lackeys,  and,  consequently,  I 
was  anxious  to  see  it  again.  I  accordingly  got  in,  after 
glancing  round  to  see  if  we  were  watched,  but,  observing 
no  one,  I  began  to  think  myself  safe.  She  had  pre- 
viously  asked  me  my  address,  so  as  to  tell  it  to  the 
coachman,  who  did  not  know  a  word  of  French,  and, 
as  I  did  not  know  one  word  of  English,  I  could  not 
understand  what  she  said  to  him.  This  being  so,  as 
she  had  ordered  the  man  to  drive  to  her  house  instead 
of  to  mine,  I  was  astounded,  on  getting  out,  to  find 
myself  in  a  courtyard  which  was  quite  unknown  to  me. 
The  lady  perceived  my  surprise,  and  told  me  to  be 
reassured,  saying  that  it  was  not  a  fine  thing  to  tremble 
in  a  lady's  présence,  and  she  knew  a  thousand  people 
who,  very  far  from  pulling  such  a  long  face  as  I  was 
doing,  would  hâve  thanked  her  a  thousand  times  for 
her  complacency.  I  made  no  reply  to  her  cajoleries — 
indeed,  I  had  no  reply  to  make,  finding  myself  shut  up 
within  four  walls  without  any  idea  as  to  how  I  was  to 
get  out. 

The  lady  would  hâve  been  much  upset  if  her  lackeys 
had  understood  French,  for  she  would  not  hâve  been 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  321 

pleased  that  they  should  hâve  been  witnesses  of  my 
conduct  towards  her;  besides,  they  might  hâve  repeated 
it  to  the  Ambassador.  However,  as  she  had  taken  care 
to  choose  those  who  were  new  corners  and  dullards,  so 
that  they  might  not  understand,  she  again  reproached 
me  a  thousand  times,  and  receiving  thèse  reproaches 
coldly  enough,  she  told  me  that  I  was  unworthy  of  her 
attentions.  She  was  beautiful,  as  I  hâve  already  said, 
and  even  so  beautiful  that  I  know  not  if  her  like  existed 
in  ail  England,  and  so,  soon  putting  on  one  side  delicacy 
about  making  love  to  another  man's  mistress,  it  was 
not  my  fault  that  I  did  not  that  moment  give  a  proof 
that  I  found  her  even  more  beautiful  than  I  had  done 
when  she  had  come  to  choose  the  stuff.  I  begged  her 
to  dismiss  her  lackeys  and  her  maid,  so  that  I  might 
speak  at  my  ease,  to  which  she  replied  that  my  memory 
must  be  short  for  me  to  hâve  already  forgotten  that  her 
servants  did  not  understand  one  word  of  French.  To 
this  I  rejoined,  that  it  was  true  that  they  had  no  ears 
for  my  words,  but  she  must  agrée  with  me  that  they 
had  eyes  to  observe  my  actions.  Love  made  itself 
known  in  many  ways,  and  after  a  lover  had  tried  to 
make  himself  understood  by  fine  protestations,  he  must 
hâve  recourse  to  even  more  significant  things  still.  This 
was  my  case,  and  why  I  wished  her  people  sent  away. 
She  clearly  understood  my  meaning,  but,  as  this  was 
not  what  she  desired,  made  answer  that  I  passed  too 
quickly  from  one  extrême  to  the  other  for  her  to  take 
me  at  my  word.  At  first  I  had  appeared  to  her  ail 
lire,  then  ail  ice,  immediately  after  hearing  what  her 
father  had  said.  She  had  in  vain  used  ail  efforts  to 
warm  me,  though  I  had  done  everything  to  discourage 
her.  One  could  place  little  reliance  on  people  of  this 
VOL.  II  21 


3iâ  MËMOÎRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

sort,  and  what  I  was  proposing  would  on  the  contrary 
turn  me  into  ice  again  ;  so,  to  be  more  certain  of  me, 
she  must  sell  her  favours  more  dearly  than  I  thought. 

True  is  it  that  nothing  sharpens  the  appetite  like  diffi- 
culty  ;  the  more  fuss  she  made,  the  more  eager  I  became. 
She  soon  perceived  this  both  from  my  words,  and  my  flash- 
ing  eyes.  In  vain  I  begged  her  to  dismiss  her  servants 
that  I  might  kiss  her  hand.  She  retorted  that,  were  I 
to  kiss  that,  I  should  afterwards  want  to  kiss  something 
else.  I  was  unable  to  alter  her  résolve,  and  ail  I  could 
obtain  from  her  w^as  a  promise  that  we  should  meet 
again,  and  the  assurance  that  patience  conquered  ail 
things.  We  had  supped  together  without  ceremony, 
and  I  had  made  an  excellent  ragoût  for  her,  which  she 
declared  was  the  best  she  had  ever  tasted.  I  promised 
to  soon  prépare  another  of  the  same  sort,  for  it  would 
not  be  long  before  I  would  return.  Indeed,  I  proposed 
to  come  back  the  next  day,  always  providing  que  la 
Signora  ne  fut  pas  inpedita,  as  the  Italian  runs,  that 
is  to  say,  that  "  the  lady  was  not  prevented";  for,  ever 
since  her  father's  words,  I  entertained  suspicions  as  to 
her  being  a  Vestal.  Meanwhile,  whilst  in  bed,  I 
received  a  note  by  an  old  Duenna,  in  which  she  sent 
me  word  to  take  care  not  to  return  and  see  her  till 
further  notice,  for  her  husband  had  arrived  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  after  my  departure,  and,  as  he  was  a  curions 
man,  she  had  to  be  careful  with  him. 

At  first  I  thought  this  a  pretext  to  get  rid  of  me 
for  some  reason  or  other,  but  she  was  not  lying  on 
this  occasion,  though  sometimes  she  did  so,  as  it  is 
easy  to  perceive  from  her  story  to  me  of  her  father's 
drunkenness,  Be  this  as  it  may,  being  doubtful  whether 
her  note  was  true  or  not,  I   went  to  discover  m  the 


MEMOIRS  OF   D'ARTAGNAN  323 

neighbourhood  of  her  house  if  her  husband  had  really 
returned.  A  neighbour,  who  knew  some  French,  told 
me  that  he  had  and,  asking  me  if  I  was  thinking  of 
entering  his  service,  advised  me  against  doing  so, 
because,  besides  being  a  beggar  of  beggars,  he  was  a 
very  bad  master  to  boot.  It  was  not  surprising  that 
this  man  should  take  me  for  a  servant.  I  was  wearing 
a  ragged  suit  and  my  hair  was  concealed  under  a  wig 
which  I  had  adopted  as  a  disguise  on  my  voyage,  so 
as  to  be  unrecognised,  for  usually  I  wore  it  as  I  do 
to-day.  It  was  consequently  easy  for  me  to  make  him 
believe  ail  I  wished,  and  after  some  further  talk  I 
went  to  see  the  husband  of  my  Englishwoman  in 
the  v^retched  clothes  I  was  wearing,  which  exactly 
suited  my  part  of  a  cook  out  of  place.  As  I  knew  very 
well  how  to  cook  a  ragoût,  I  was  quite  ready  he  should 
take  me  at  my  word,  and  besides,  reckoned  that  my 
new  rôle  would  in  no  way  interfère  with  the  affairs 
of  M.  le  Cardinal,  which,  as  there  was  no  great  cooking 
to  be  done,  I  should  find  time  to  look  after,  whenever 
I  might  think  fit. 

The  husband  of  the  lady  himself  came  to  open  the 
door  when  I  knocked.  On  seeing  him  I  was  afraid 
that  I  had  corne  too  late  to  obtain  the  place,  for  he 
was  of  evil  appearance,  with  hands  as  black  as  a 
charcoal  burner's.  I  indeed  took  him  for  a  cook,  which 
he  was  much  more  like  than  a  gentleman,  so  much  so 
that  he  had  to  tell  me  who  he  was  before  I  could 
believe  he  was  really  the  master.  However,  after 
having  learnt  from  whom  I  had  come,  he  told  me  to 
go  into  the  kitchen  and  prépare  supper  and  afterwards 
we  would  discuss  my  wages. 

It  was  then  about  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  afteraoon, 

21 — 2 


324  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

and  I  passed  unrecognised  by  his  wife's  servants,  who 
had  seen  me  as  it  were  but  for  a  minute.  The  lady, 
on  being  informed  that  her  husband  had  engaged  a 
French  cook  came  downstairs  to  ask  me  to  make 
a  ragoût  similar  to  the  one  she  had  eaten  with  me, 
and  having  better  eyes  she  immediately  recognised 
me,  but  being  afraid  of  harming  both  of  us  she  took 
care  to  give  no  sign  of  récognition,  but  at  once  went 
upstairs  again.  She  was  enchanted,  as  she  afterwards 
told  me,  at  the  proofs  of  love,  which  she  deemed  me 
to  be  giving  her,  and  I  took  good  care  not  to  destroy 
her  illusions,  as  I  should  hâve  done,  had  I  told  her 
that  jealousy  had  had  as  much  to  do  with  my  conduct 
as  love.  Indeed,  had  I  been  thoroughly  certain  of  her 
virtue,  I  should  never  hâve  made  any  enquiries  whether 
her  husband  had  really  returned,  as  I  had  done.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  having  cooked  him  an  even  better 
ragoût  than  that  of  the  day  before,  the  poor  cuckold, 
who  was  like  a  regular  Sancho  Pansa,  told  me  that 
whilst  I  made  sauces  like  this  I  should  be  the  man 
for  him,  and  at  the  same  time  promised  me  large 
wages,  apparently  on  the  condition  they  should  never 
be  paid.  It  was  a  great  pity  that  he  was  not  a 
foUower  of  M.  le  Cardinal,  for  like  him  he  would 
hâve  ruined  himself  in  promises.  Never  had  man 
such  a  bent  for  lying  as  he,  and  from  what  he  said 
he  was  the  richest  individual  in  the  world.  Everything 
belonged  to  him — Heaven  and  earth,  so  to  speak! 
Nevertheless,  though  he  had  not  one  sou  of  ready 
money,  he  was  always  boasting  of  his  wealth,  though 
not  of  something  else  which  really  belonged  to  him. 
He  was  fit  for  a  straight  waistcoat,  and  kept  that 
quiet,  though  one  had  but  to  see  him  to  perceive 
the  truth. 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  325 

What  I  had  done  for  the  lady— at  least  what  she 
thought  I  had  done — soon  obtained  its  reward,  and  she 
accorded  me  what  I  asked  the  very  first  time  I  did  so, 
declaring  that  a  woman  who  could  be  ungrateful  after 
my  having  become  a  cook  for  her  sake  would  deserve 
drowning.  Thus  did  she  excuse  her  weakness,  and  as 
when  one's  own  interests  are  concerned  one  is  but  too 
feeble,  I  thought  myself  lucky  in  occupying  a  position 
which  could  not  be  considered  a  great  one  by  any  dis- 
interested  person  ;  for,  to  hâve  the  leavings  of  a  second 
Sancho  Pansa   and   the   ambassador  vvas   not   much. 

The  lady  was,  however,  as  one  may  say,  a  novice  in 
love,  and  had  never  had  a  child.  In  spite  of  thèse 
advantages,  she  v^as,  to  my  mind,  spoilt  by  a  fault 
which  some,  though  not  sensible,  people  consider  a 
merit.  There  were  certain  moments  when  she  affected 
to  be  too  much  carried  away  by  love,  a  thing  which  in 
no  wise  befits,  I  will  not  say  a  respectable  woman,  but, 
further,  a  respectable  mistress.  Woman's  distinguish- 
ing  quality  should  be  modesty.  It  is  to  guard  this  as 
well  as  to  keep  draughts  away  that  beds  hâve  curtains, 
and  a  virtuous  woman  disKkes  thèse  to  be  drawn  aside 
at  certain  moments,  for  daylight  might  seem  to 
reproach  her  for  lacking  that  delicacy  which  her  sex 
demands. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  this  lady  in  due  course  began  to 
show  signs  of  being  about  to  become  a  mother,  and  at 
once  gave  me  the  crédit  of  being  the  cause.  I  had  my 
own  opinion  on  the  subject,  and,  without  being  certain 
of  anything,  felt  sure  that  I  had,  at  ail  events,  done 
my  share  as  well  as  other  people.  Sancho  Pansa, 
indeed,  took  ail  the  crédit  to  himself,  and,  in  short, 
this  child,  after  being  attributed  by  its  mother  to  her 


326  MEMOIRE    OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

husband  and  myself,  was  further  laid  at  the  door  of 
the  Ambassador,  M.  de  Bordeaux,  by  her — a  gift  which 
was  at  once  registered  by  public  opinion.  The  latter 
was  a  man  of  some  worth,  clever  and  polite,  besides 
being  generous  enough  when  his  heart  was  captured. 
The  gift  of  this  lady  in  no  wise  displeased  him,  and, 
indeed,  his  affection  for  his  Englishwoman  was  con- 
siderably  increased  thereby.  Every  day  he  was  wont 
to  corne  and  visit  her,  and,  chancing  to  eat  one  of  my 
ragoûts,  curiosity  seized  him  to  see  me  and  learn  my 
history.  With  this  object  the  ambassador  sent  a 
lackey  for  me,  but,  being  in  no  mood^  to  show  my 
nose  to  a  man  who  might  be  returning  to  Paris  at 
any  moment  and  meet  me  there,  I  feigned  a  headache 
to  escape  such  an  unpalatable  interview.  Besides,  I 
hated  him  at  heart  as  a  rival,  though,  curiously  enough, 
I  bore  Sancho  Pansa  no  ill-will,  deeming  him  too  con- 
temptible  for  my  notice.  Mayhap  I  was  wrong  to 
avoid  this  interview,  for  it  was  inévitable  that  M.  de 
Bordeaux  should  again  ask  to  see  me,  for,  since  my 
arrivai,  his  own  cook  no  longer  came  with  him  to 
prépare  his  food.  I  had  realised  this,  and,  conse- 
quently,  had  an  idea  of  cooking  ail  his  dishes  so  badly 
that  he  should  lose  ail  désire  to  see  me,  but,  fearing  on 
reflection  that  such  a  course  might  cause  my  expulsion, 
I  continued  to  please  the  ambassador's  taste  so  much 
(though  he  himself  kept  an  excellent  table),  that  he  was 
not  long  in  paying  me  the  compliment  I  dreaded. 
This  time  I  dared  not  make  the  same  excuse  as  before, 
so,  deciding  to  play  the  loon,  I  told  the  lackey  sent  to 

I  D'Artagnan  had  probably  secret  orders  from  Cardinal 
Mazarin  to  keep  a  close  watch  on  the  ambassador  and  report 
what  he  was  doing. 


ME  MOI  R  s  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 


3*7 


fetch  me  that  I  was  afraid  to  go  upstairs  for  fear  of  his 
master's  laughing  at  me.  Poor  as  I  was,  I  hated  being 
made  a  laughing  stock,  for  I  came  from  a  province 
where  folks  were  so  full  of  pride  as  to  often  injure 
their  own  interests.  At  least,  that  had  been  my  case, 
for,  had  I  not  been  unwilling  to  be  jeered  at,  I  should 
still  hâve  been  with  the  Commandeur  de  Jars. 

The  name  of  this  offîcer  sprang  to  my  lips  sooner 
than  anyone  else's,  because  I  knew  that  he  kept  a 
good  table  and  loved  laughing  at  everyone.  My 
answer,  however,  but  increased  the  Ambassador's 
curiosity,  for  he  knew  that  this  commandeur  only 
employed  first-class  servants,  and  he  accordingly  sent 
for  me  once  again.  I  showed  myself  no  more  obedient 
than  on  the  other  occasions,  and  Sancho  Pansa,  who 
chattered  as  was  his  wont,  chancing  to  say  that  my 
conceit  gave  him  no  surprise  (for  I  was  a  fine,  well- 
built  fellow,  and  were  he  not  certain  of  his  wife,  a 
man  he  should  not  care  for  her  to  cast  her  eyes 
upon),  the  ambassador,  whose  suspicions  were  perhaps 
aroused  by  the  lady  blushing  or  by  some  decrease  of 
tenderness  on  her  part,  became  very  uneasy.  He 
announced  his  intention  of  himself  going  to  see  me  and 
taking  Sancho  Pansa  (who  could  refuse  him  nothing 
as  he  lived  at  his  expense)  with  him.  I  found  myself, 
to  my  great  surprise,  confironted  by  thèse  unwelcome 
visitors.  Covered  with  confusion,  which  was  only  too 
apparent,  I  answered  the  interrogatories  put  to  me 
by  M.  de  Bordeaux  as  shortly  as  possible,  but  in 
spite  of  this  he  clearly  perceived  from  my  demeanour 
and  appearance  that  I  was  no  mère  cook.  Deciding 
to  watch  me  he  sent  one  of  his  men,  eighteen  or 
nineteen  years  old,  on   the   pretext    of  learning   how 


328  MEMOIRS  OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

to  cook  a  ragoût  after  my  fashion.  This  youth  was 
usually  his  agent  when  he  wished  to  debauch  some 
girl,  which  was  often  enough,  for  a  wife  and  mistress 
did  not  satisfy  his  appetites.  His  wife  indeed  had 
remained  in  Paris,  where  she  led  a  very  gay  life,  which 
in  due  course  was  reported  to  her  husband  by  his 
father.  As  the  ambassador  was  a  man  of  honour, 
he  was  much  annoyed  at  thèse  scandais  and  wrote  a 
lecture  to  his  lady,  threatening  to  corne  to  Paris  unless 
she  gave  up  certain  friends.  She  might  well  hâve 
done  so,  but,  being  of  a  perverse  nature,  she  feigned 
illness  and  closed  her  door  to  everyone,  which  coming 
to  M.  de  Bordeaux'  ears  made  him  so  jealous  that, 
forgetting  me,  he  set  out  from  London,  alleging  a 
hunting  party  near  Dover  as  his  excuse,  and  crossed 
the  Channel  without  saying  a  word  to  a  soûl.  He 
arrived  at  his  house  about  midnight,  and,  awakening 
the  porter,  who  did  not  dare  to  refuse  him  the  entry, 
went  upstairs  to  his  wife's  room,  which  he  found 
shut  up.  Having  aroused  an  old  servant,  who  had 
been  his  nurse,  he  learnt  from  her  that  her  mistress 
had  twice,  twenty-four  hours  before,  bidden  her  adieu 
for  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  without  saying  where 
she  was  going,  and  had  given  strict  instructions  that 
her  sudden  departure  was  to  be  kept  a  secret. 

This  was  terrible  news  for  the  ambassador,  for  he 
could  not  go  and  look  for  his  wife,  for  he  feared  that 
being  away  from  his  post  might  injure  his  prospects 
with  the  King  or  his  minister,  were  they  to  hear  of  it. 
He  could  therefore  only  speak  to  his  father  on  the 
subject  and  beg  him  to  avenge  his  honour  when  the 
lady  should  return,  keeping  in  the  meanwhile  silence 
about  the  matter  as  much  for  his  own  honour  as  for 


MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN  329 

the  ultimate  success  of  his  revenge.  This  being  done, 
he  at  once  set  out  on  his  return  to  London,  occasionally 
telling  himself  on  the  way  that  now  the  only  mis- 
fortune  left  to  him  would  be  to  find  himself  as  unlucky 
in  the  matter  of  his  mistress  as  he  had  been  with  his 
wife.  He  still  had  suspicions  about  me,  but,  as  the 
other  affair  was  far  more  serious,  one  jealousy  had 
well  nigh  obliterated  the  other. 

In  due  course  M.  de  Bordeaux  arrived  in  London, 
and  the  very  day  of  his  arrivai  his  cup  was  filled  to 
the  brim  by  the  discovery  of  the  truth  of  his  suspicions 
about  myself.  The  youth  he  had  set  to  spy  over  me 
reported  to  him  that,  Sancho  Pansa  having  got  as 
drunk  as  a  pig  with  two  Englishwomen,  his  wife  and  I 
had  been  shut  up  in  a  bedroom  together  from  eleven 
at  night  till  five  the  next  morning.  Such  news  was 
not  calculated  to  soothe  the  ambassador's  ruffled 
feelings,  and  he  determined  to  break  ail  the  fine 
mirrors  and  other  costly  furniture  which  he  had  given 
his  mistress  before  her  eyes,  as  he  could  not  decently 
give  the  woman  a  castigation.  However,  when  he 
appeared  on  the  scène,  the  work  was  already  half 
done.  Madame  de  Bordeaux  had  arrived  there  with  a 
companion,  and  had  at  once  begun  by  smashing  the 
mirrors  to  bits,  and  had  then  covered  her  husband's 
paramour  with  abuse.  Ail  this  had  just  happened. 
The  Englishwoman  had  been  completely  taken  by 
surprise,  for  she  did  not  know  who  the  ambassadress, 
who  had  come  simply  dressed  in  a  travelling  costume, 
might  be.  Madame  de  Bordeaux  had  intended  to 
return  at  once  to  Paris,  but  this  the  Englishwoman 
prevented  by  sending  at  once  for  a  constable,  which 
corresponds  with   the   man  we   term   a   commissaire. 


330  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Meanwhile,  she  had  her  door  guarded,  declaring  that, 
when  this  officer  should  arrive,  neither  the  lady  nor  her 
companion  should  get  out  of  his  hands  till  they  had 
paid  the  last  sou  for  the  damage  they  had  done,  and 
also  for  the  affront  which  she  had  received. 

The  ambassador,  under  thèse  circumstances,  had  a 
good  deal  of  trouble  in  obtaining  admission,  the  man 
at  the  door  telling  him  that,  two  female  thieves  having 
corne  to  rob  his  mistress,  they  had  been  secured  whilst 
breaking  her  mirrors.  M.  de  Bordeaux  took  this  for 
truth  and  praised  the  man  for  his  vigilance,  but,  on 
going  upstairs,  could  not  hâve  been  more  astonished, 
had  horns  suddenly  sprouted  from  his  head,  than  he 
was  at  the  sight  of  his  wife  and  her  companion.  For 
some  time  he  was  speechless,  but,  regaining  his  sensés, 
he  begged  the  Englishwoman  to  counterorder  the 
constable  and  he  vv^ould  hâve  ail  the  damage  made 
good  ;  then,  being  left  alone  w^ith  the  ambassadress, 
he  bade  her  give  her  reasons  for  having  left  Paris 
without  his  leave.  In  reply,  she  retorted  that  a  woman 
had  no  need  of  such  a  thing,  v^^hen  she  possessed  a 
husband  who  led  a  life  such  as  he  did.  This  was  why 
he  had  not  brought  her  with  him.  However,  news  of 
this  kind  soon  travelled  across  the  sea,  and,  therefore, 
he  should  not  be  astonished  at  her  having  come  in 
person  to  show  her  resentment  and  contempt. 

The  ambassador  had  been  so  alarmed  at  the  reports 
sent  him  by  his  father  that  he  was  delighted  at  matters 
turning  out  in  this  way,  so,  begging  the  Englishwoman 
to  hold  her  peace  about  what  had  occurred,  he  told  her 
to  say  that  the  lady  was  a  mistress  of  her  husband, 
who  had  been  promised  marriage  by  him,  and,  having 
been  deceived,  had  come  to  create  a  scandai.     At  the 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  331 

same  time  he  sent  word  to  Sancho  Pansa  not  to  corne 
home  that  day,  so  as  to  give  greater  colour  to  this 
story.  He  knew  he  was  to  be  found  either  at  an  inn  or 
a  tennis-court,  as,  indeed,  was  the  case,  and  this 
husband  duly  betook  himself  to  the  Embassy,  so  as 
to  appear  to  hâve  need  of  some  safe  retreat,  awaiting 
there  the  orders  of  the  ambassador  as  to  showing  him- 
self again.  The  EngHshwoman's  servants  were  much 
surprised  at  matters  settling  down  so  easily,  M.  de 
Bordeaux  taking  care  to  tell  his  mistress  in  their 
présence  that  her  husband  had  brought  ail  this  scandai 
upon  himself.  He  then,  after  a  hasty  supper,  sent  ofî 
his  wife  and  her  companion  towards  the  Tower,  where 
a  frigate  he  had  hired  was  ready  to  take  them  back  to 
France  under  the  charge  of  Sancho  Pansa,  whom  he 
was  delighted  to  get  rid  of  in  such  a  manner,  for  he 
was  killing  two  birds  with  one  stone.  The  ambassa- 
dress  was  much  upset  at  being  sent  off  after  this 
fashion,  for  she  was  compelled  to  départ  by  her 
husband,  who  kept  his  face  in  his  cloak  for  fear  of 
being  recognised  whilst  seeing  her  go  on  board  the 
frigate. 

His  Excellency,  having  settled  this  matter,  now  had 
only  me  to  deal  with.  The  report  of  his  spy  had 
increased  his  suspicions  that  I  was  quite  a  différent 
characterfromtheonelpretendedto  be,  but  nevertheless, 
he  was  very  much  puzzled  as  to  how  I  could  hâve 
obtained  a  footing  in  the  house.  In  the  meantime,  it 
must  not  be  imagined  that  I  had  been  neglecting  my 
duty.  Twice  had  I  written  to  M.  le  Cardinal  about 
those  subjects  which  he  had  sent  me  to  enquire  into, 
and  he  had  found  my  information  so  much  in  accord 
with   that  of  his  other   informants   that   he    sent  me 


332  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Word  back  expressing  his  satisfaction  with  my  conduct 
and  instructing  me  not  to  return  till  further  orders. 
To  tell  the  truth,  I  was  becoming  fatigued  with  the 
part  I  had  been  playing  at  the  house  of  the  English- 
woman.  It  was  paying  too  dear  a  price  for  her  favours 
to  hâve  to  personate  a  cook,  though,  in  addition  to 
my  expecting  to  please  the  Cardinal,  the  lady  was  wont 
to  embrace  me  in  spite  of  my  kitchen  apron,  and 
to  déclare  that  she  loved  me,  as  I  was  a  thousand  times 
better  than  the  whole  English  Court.  She  took  care 
not  to  say  the  ambassador,  though  she  had  always 
denied  having  any  relations  with  him  like  grim  death 
itself.  Whenever  I  mooted  such  a  thing,  she  would 
reply  that  he  came  merely  as  a  relative  and  intimate 
friend  of  Sancho  Pansa.  There  were  many  spies  of 
M.  de  Bordeaux  in  London,  who  kept  him  informed 
about  matters  which  were  of  importance  to  him  to 
know.  It  must  be  understood  that  I  had  taken  to 
frequenting  inns  (as  does  everyone  in  England)  so  as 
to  pick  up  anything  likely  to  forward  my  interests  with 
his  Eminence,  and,  as  I  had  the  wherewithal  to  be 
decently  dressed,  no  one  took  me  for  the  cook  of 
Sancho  Pansa's  wife.  Not  that  this  kind  of  life  was 
to  my  liking  ;  indeed,  except  at  the  time  of ^  my  early 
loves,  and  in  order  to  see  my  mistress,  I  had  never 
indulged  in  this  kind  of  debauchery.  Indeed,  I  think 
it  ill  befitting  a  respectable  man  to  go  and  tipple  the 
greater  part  of  the  day,  and  in  France  it  is  only  done 
by  the  dregs  of  the  populace,  for  if  by  chance  other 
people  take  to  this  kind  of  life,  as  sometimes  happens, 
they  are  thought  worthy  only  of  the  finger  of  scorn. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  thinking  that,  the  less  I  liked  it, 

I  See  Vol.  I.,  p.  97. 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 


333 


the  more  praise  I  deserved  from  the  Court,  for  whose 
sake  I  did  it,  I  became  so  assiduous  in  my  attendance 
as  to  occupy  the  position  of  one  of  the  chief  pillars  of 
the  inn  I  frequented.  In  conséquence,  people  began 
to  grow  curious  as  to  where  I  lived,  and  my  reasons 
for  having  corne  to  England.  By  way  of  satisfying 
their  curiosity,  I  made  reply  that  I  was  travelling  for 
my  own  pleasure.  When  however  I  tried  to  give 
evasive  answers  as  to  where  I  lived,  the  matter  became 
more  serious,  for  enquiries  were  made  as  to  the  truth 
of  my  statements.  A  spy  of  the  ambassador's  in  par- 
ticular,  was  very  suspicious  as  to  my  reasons  for  being 
eager  for  news,  and  watched  me  near  Long  Acre  where 
I  had  told  him  I  was  living.  This  is  a  big  street  at 
the  exterior  of  the  town  leading  to  Whitehall,  which  is 
the  palace  of  the  Kings  of  England.  He  wasted  his 
time  there,  from  five  in  the  morning  to  five  at  night, 
which  was  showing  a  good  deal  more  patience  than  I 
could  ever  hâve  shown,  though  my  business  in  England 
was  much  the  same  as  his  own.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
coming  on  to  our  accustomed  inn,  he  proceeded  to  eye 
me  carefully,  and  became  every  moment  more  certain 
that  his  suspicions  were  correct. 

I  left  the  inn  at  seven  that  evening,  and  the  spy 
would  hâve  followed  me  to  find  out  where  I  really 
lived,  had  he  been  able  to  do  so,  but,  as  he  was  not 
prepared  for  this,  he  let  me  go  alone,  and  delayed  his 
schemes  to  the  morrow.  Meanwhile,  betaking  himself 
to  the  ambassador,  he  informed  him  of  his  discovery. 
M.  de  Bordeaux  showed  himself  very  keen  about  the 
matter,  for  just  then  M.  le  Prince  was  doing  his  best 
to  get  Cromwell  to  make  a  treaty  against  France,  so, 
at  once  concluding  I  was  one  of  his  men,  he  bade  him 


334  MEMOIRS    OF    D'ARTAGNAN 

be  sure  and  foUow  me  the  next  day,  and  he  would  pro- 
vide him  with  an  assistant  to  let  him  know  what  was 
to  be  done  with  me.  Never  dreaming  of  this,  I  went 
next  day  as  usual  to  the  inn,  and  should  soon  hâve  been 
trapped,  had  I  not  been  wont  to  always  look  behind  me 
on  going  out.  I  consequently  had  no  difficulty  in  per- 
ceiving  that  I  was  followed,  and  having  tried  in  vain  to 
baffle  my  pursuer,  I  thought  it  best  to  go  straight  up  to 
him.  The  man  was  rather  taken  aback  at  this,  but, 
being  an  impudent  fellow,  kept  on  his  way,  stopping 
only  in  a  doorway  to  observe  my  movements.  How- 
ever,  coming  within  three  paces  of  him,  I  taxed  him 
with  having  followed  me  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  past, 
and  demanded  what  the  meaning  of  such  conduct 
might  be  ?  He  retorted  with  much  insolence,  that  I 
then  wished  to  stop  him  walking  in  the  street,  which  I 
could  not  do,  since  the  King  of  England,  who  alone 
could  forbid  it,  allowed  everyone  in  the  town  to  take  as 
many  turns  in  it  as  they  liked.  His  answer  seemed  to 
me  to  deserve  only  punishment,  and  at  once  drawing 
my  sword,  he  fled  to  escape  my  rage,  not  having  as 
much  courage  as  chatter  about  him.  He  ran  well 
enough,  and,  as  far  as  I  could  see  in  the  lantern  light, 
was  a  spare  man  and  not  at  ail  fat,  so  though  a  good 
enough  runner  myself,  I  forbore  to  pursue  him.  Indeed, 
I  did  not  wish  to  do  so,  my  sole  désire  being  to  avoid 
him. 

After  this,  I  lost  sight  of  the  man  who  had  been  so 
terrified  at  my  wanting  to  attack  him,  that  following 
me  further  was  the  last  thing  he  dreamt  of.  My  path 
was  therefore  clear  to  return  to  my  Englishwoman  who 
would  hâve  liked  me  to  spend  ail  the  afternoon  with 
her,  being  of  opinion  that,  as  her  husband  was  out  and 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  335 

the  ambassador  looking  after  his  despatches,  I  was 
wrong  to  waste  such  precious  time.  But,  if  his 
Excellency  had  business  to  do,  I  had  mine  just  as  well 
as  he,  so  I  told  her  plainly  that  the  nights  were  long 
enough  without  my  giving  up  the  days  too.  Indeed, 
I  passed  most  of  my  time  with  her,  and  I  had  found 
means  to  frustrate  the  intentions  of  the  ambassador  by 
making  his  spy  drunk  every  evening,  for  he  was  devoted 
to  wine  and  was  too  poor  to  buy  it  himself,  for  in 
England  it  is  very  expensive.  Nevertheless,  as  one 
must  be  very  cautious  when  meddling  with  one's 
neighbour's  wife,  I  made  this  apprentice  belicve  that 
the  wine  cost  me  nothing,  in  order  that  my  generosity 
might  not  arouse  his  suspicions,  teUing  him  that  I  had 
found  means  to  open  the  cellar  door  of  the  ambassador, 
which  much  dehghted  him,  for  heappearedto  be  afraid 
of  my  money  coming  to  an  end.  Being  calmed  by  the 
idea  that  we  were  drinking  at  his  Excellency's  expense, 
he  could  not  prevent  himself  telling  me,  whilst  in  his 
cups,  that  the  ambassador  was  jealous  of  me  and  had 
sent  him  to  the  Englishwoman's  house  much  more  on 
that  account  than  to  learn  how  to  cook  my  ragoût. 
He  omitted,  however,  to  add  that  he  had  told  M.  de 
Bordeaux  of  having  on  one  occasion  seen  me  enter  his 
mistress's  chamber,  and  that  I  had  passed  the  night 
there.  Had  he  done  so,  I  should  hâve  taken  certain 
précautions  which  in  my  ignorance  I  failed  to  do,  and 
so  escaped  something  which  happened  to  me  a  few 
days  later. 

Meanwhile,  as  I  felt  afraid  of  thanking  him  for  his 
information,  lest  when  his  sensés  should  hâve  returned 
he  might  take  advantage  of  it,  I  pretended  not  to  be 
able  to  believe  what  he  had  said,  declaring  that  Heaven 


336  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

was  no  further  from  earth  than  the  suspicion  of  the 
ambassador  from  the  truth,  and  his  reply  should  hâve 
put  me  on  my  guard,  had  I  been  as  wise  as  I  ought  to 
hâve  been.  He  rejoined  that  whatever  I  said  would 
not  alter  his  opinion,  and  when  I  tried  to  make  him 
explain  his  meaning,  (perceiving  that  he  had  said  too 
much,  which  might  some  day  get  him  into  trouble  with 
his  Excellency)  this  man  feigned  not  to  know  what  he 
was  saying,  so  as  to  make  me  think  that  drunkenness 
rather  than  truth  had  caused  him  to  talk  as  he  had 
done,  but  in  spite  of  this  he  was  not  so  drunk  as  I 
imagined. 

The  ambassador  was  much  surprised  at  the  report 
given  by  the  man  he  had  deputed  to  watch  me,  and 
was  angry  with  him  for  not  having  followed  me  further. 
Questioning  the  spy,  he  discovered  from  his  description 
of  my  appearance,    that   I  was   undoubtedly   the   in- 
dividual  who  was  passing  as  a  cook  in  his  mistress's 
house,  but  wishing  to  make  certain  of  it,  he  sent  at 
supper-time  to  the  EngHshwoman  to  beg  her  to  send 
her  cook  to  him  for  but  a  quarter  of  an  hour.     Both 
she  and  I  were  much  disturbed  at  this  summons,  but 
after   consulting   together   we   decided   that    the   best 
thing  for  me  to  do  was  to  obey  it  and  go.     One  of  my 
reasons  for  taking  such  a  course  was,  that  I   feared 
being  sent  away  in  case  of  disobedience,  which  indeed 
would  not  hâve  mattered  to  me  much,  but  my  liaison 
with  this  woman  had  made  me  more  eager  to  stay 
than    I    ought    to   hâve   been,    and    so    I    accordingly 
dressed  quickly  and  set  out  for  the  Embassy.     The 
ambassador  had  concealed  his  spy  in  a  place  where 
he   could   not   be   seen    (a   thing   which    I   could   not 
possibly  hâve  any  idea  of)  and  had  given  him  orders 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  337 

to  at  once  corne  out  of  his  ambuscade,  should  I  prove 
to  be  the  man  who  was  wanted,  and  accuse  me  there 
and  then  of  having  told  him  that  I  intended  poisoning 
his  Excellency.  No  sooner  therefore  had  I  entered  the 
room  than  the  spy  came  out  of  his  hiding  place. 

My  surprise  was  extrême,  for  as  the  ambassador  had 
given  as  an  excuse  when  sending  for  me  that  he  wanted 
the  recipe  of  my  ragoût  (which  was  a  ragoût  pecuHar 
to  my  own  province)  for  his  wife,  I  had  some  idea 
that  such  was  really  the  case.  He  had,  however, 
merely  said  this  so  as  to  be  able  to  dismiss  me  without 
arousing  my  suspicions,  should  he  hâve  wrongly 
suspected  me.  Perceiving  however  that  I  was  the 
man  he  expected,  he  told  me,  after  ringing  a  bell 
which  stood  on  a  bureau  near  him,  that  I  had  then 
but  taken  up  my  abode  at  the  Englishwoman's  to 
poison  him.  This  he  said  before  his  spy  had  opened 
his  mouth,  fearing  perhaps,  after  what  that  individual 
had  said,  that  rage  might  carry  me  away  and  cause 
me  to  forget  the  respect  I  owed  to  the  ambassador 
of  my  King,  or  perhaps  he  may  hâve  trembled  at  the 
thought  of  the  accusation  he  was  making.  Be  this 
as  it  may,  before  I  could  reply,  most  of  his  servants 
entered  the  room  armed  in  différent  ways,  and  headed 
by  his  écuyer  with  a  pistol  in  one  hand  and  a  sword  in 
the  other.  Seeing  how  matters  lay,  I  said  that  such 
a  deed  as  this  must  redound  but  little  to  his  honour 
when  it  should  hâve  become  known.  He  might  hâve 
me  assassinated  if  he  liked,  but  such  a  pièce  of 
cowardice  would  sully  his  famé  and  mayhap  I  should 
be  revenged  after  my  death  more  dearly  than  he  thought. 

My  words  made  M.  de  Bordeaux  more  certain  than 
ever  that  I  was  an  agent  of  M.  le  Prince  and  that  I 
VOL.  H  22 


338  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

meant  that  it  was  he  who  would  exact  vengeance  for 
my  blood,  so  the  interests  of  the  State  increasing  the 
ill-will  which  he  already  bore  me  by  reason  of  his 
jealousy,  I  should  hâve  been  unfailingly  lost,  had  I 
not  possessed  so  good  a  patron  saint  as  I  did.  His 
Excellency  again  accused  me  before  his  servants  of 
having  wanted  to  poison  him,  and,  referring  to  his 
spy  as  to  vi^hether  such  was  not  the  case,  the  man 
with  unparallelled  effrontery  declared  that  it  was,  adding 
that  other  witnesses  could  corroborate  his  statements, 
and  that  I  had  much  better  confess  my  guilt  and 
implore  the  mercy  of  the  ambassador,  for  perhaps 
his  anxiety  to  conceal  the  defects  of  our  nation  might 
prevent  his  pushing  matters  to  the  last  extremity. 
In  short,  this  insolent  fellow,  talking  as  if  I  were  a 
real  criminal,  threw  me  into  such  a  rage  that  had  it 
not  been  that  in  no  pass  whatsoever  is  it  befitting 
to  show  one's  anger,  I  do  not  know  what  I  might  not 
hâve  done.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  ambassador,  who 
wanted  to  ruin  me,  because  not  only  was  he  jealous, 
but  believed  me  to  be  a  spy,  having  produced  another 
witness  just  as  shameless  as  the  iirst  one,  I  was 
completely  dumfounded  as  to  what  to  think  of  such 
villainy. 

The  ambassador  then  caused  me  to  be  shut  up  in  a 
room  and  there  kept  under  observation  until  he  should 
hâve  written  to  M.  le  Cardinal  and  received  an  answer. 
He  then  wrote  to  his  Eminence,  telling  him  he  had 
seized  a  Frenchman — a  spy  of  M.  le  Prince — who  had 
introduced  himself,  disguised  as  a  cook,  into  a  house- 
hold  where  he  was  wont  to  visit,  adding  a  great  many 
more  fantastic  détails.  The  Cardinal,  who  had  no 
mean  opinion  of  him,  consequently  sent   back  word 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  339 

to  hâve  me  conveyed,  bound  hand  and  foot,  to 
Boulogne,  there  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Maréchal 
d'Aumont,  who  would  hold  me  in  safe  keeping  till 
such  time  as  men  should  arrive  to  conduct  me  to  the 
Bastille.  Meanwhile,  he  was  to  take  good  care  that 
Cromwell  should  not  hear  of  a  prisoner  being  seized, 
or  that  he  w^as  to  be  sent  to  France,  for  his  nation  was 
so  jealous  of  its  privilèges  that,  without  fail,  he  would 
take  exception  to  his  having  dared  lay  hands  on  my 
person.  He  should,  therefore,  whilst  despatching  me 
from  London  by  night,  not  only  hâve  me  manacled 
hand  and  foot,  but  also  hâve  me  gagged  till  the  ship 
was  reached. 

This  was  the  terrible  sentence  pronounced  by  his 
Eminence  against  me,  and  the  ambassador,  urged  both 
by  reasons  of  State  and  jealousy,  took  ail  possible  care 
to  see  it  carried  out.  He  sent  two  relays  of  carriages 
on  the  road  which  had  to  be  traversed,  so  as  to  ensure 
greater  safety  and  speed.  Thèse  were  posted  in  the 
country,  and  not  in  a  town  or  village,  lest  I  might 
occasion  some  disturbance  and  rouse  the  inhabitants. 
I  was  gagged  only  with  great  difficulty,  but,  my  feet 
and  hands  being  put  in  irons,  I  was  forced  to  submit 
to  my  fate.  About  one  in  the  morning  I  was  placed  in 
a  carriage,  and,  three  men  entering  it,  the  blinds  were 
drawn  down  to  prevent  my  being  observed.  Taken  to 
a  place  of  embarcation,  I  was  carried  on  board  ship 
with  a  guard  of  six  men  with  muskets  pointed  at  my 
head,  which,  however,  somewhat  decreased  my  fears, 
for  I  deemed  that  I  should  not  hâve  been  brought  so 
far  if  I  was  to  be  shot  ;  much  more  did  I  fear  being 
thrown  overboard,  but,  far  from  this  being  the  case,  no 
sooner  had  we  made  a  quarter  of  a  league  than  my  gag 

22 — 2 


340  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

was  removed.  I  had  already  been  fed  two  or  three 
times  on  the  road,  which  should  hâve  reassured  me, 
for  one  does  not  feed  a  man  who  is  to  be  stabbed  or 
thrown  into  the  sea.  Nevertheless,  I  did  not  think 
myself  safe  till  we  were  in  sight  of  Boulogne,  but  this 
took  a  long  time,  for,  though  as  a  rule  it  is  but  a 
passage  of  five  or  six  hours,  in  our  case  it  was  one  of 
four  whole  days,  and  we  were  near  perishing  on  the 
way.  A  storm  arose  two  hours  after  raising  anchor 
and  drove  us  far  out  of  our  course,  which  enabled  the 
men  sent  by  M.  le  Cardinal  to  reach  Boulogne  before  I 
did.  They  presented  their  credentials  to  M.  le  Maré- 
chal d'Aumont,  who  had  been  informed  what  to  do, 
and  declared  himself  ready  to  hand  me  over  directly  I 
should  hâve  landed.  I  had  hoped  to  be  taken  at  once 
before  the  Maréchal,  or  the  Lieutenant  de  Roi,  if  he 
were  away,  but  my  escort,  having  come  to  fetch  me  at 
the  landing  place,  at  once  thrust  me  into  a  hired 
carriage  which  they  had  brought  with  them  in  order 
to  conceal  me  from  the  people  of  Boulogne,  who  were 
then  somewhat  rebellious,  and  might  hâve  attempted  a 
rescue.  My  captors  paid  no  heed  whatever  to  my 
entreaties  to  take  me  before  the  maréchal,  which, 
indeed,  I  might  hâve  caused  them  to  do,  had  I  let 
out  who  I  was,  in  which  case  I  should  hâve  been 
treated  as  no  spy,  but  as  a  man  of  some  conséquence. 
Fearing,  however,  lest  my  speaking  out  might  displease 
his  Eminence,  I  allowed  myself  to  be  taken  where  my 
escort  pleased,  without  breathing  a  syllable  as  to  my 
identity. 

Seven  or  eight  days  after,  we  reached  the  Bastille 
about  four  or  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  began 
to  laugh  to  myself  at  the  thought  of  my  being  taken 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  341 

there.  I  pictured  the  governor's  surprise  (for  I  was 
known  to  him)  when  I  should  be  delivered  into  his 
hands,  knowing  that  I  should  only  hâve  to  whisper 
a  word  in  his  ear  to  receive  quite  a  différent  réception 
from  that  which  my  guards  expected.  However,  the 
governor  proved  to  be  away,  and  so  I  was  taken  before 
an  underhng  of  his,  who  was  a  stranger  to  me,  and  I, 
therefore,  determined  to  keep  my  secret  till  his  return, 
which  I  thought  would  be  that  evening.  He  stayed,  how- 
ever, at  St.  Germain,  where  he  had  gone,  till  the  next  day, 
and  dressing  for  the  King's  levée,  before  retur  ning  to  Paris, 
the  Commandeur  de  Souvrai  sent  him  word  to  join  him 
in  a  hunting  party  with  M.  le  Premier.  The  governor, 
who  was  passionately  fond  of  hunting,  gave  up  his  idea 
of  going  to  pay  his  court  to  the  King,  and  at  once 
changing  his  dress,  started  off.  The  stag  led  the  hunt 
near  to  Mantes,  and  his  horse  falling,  this  governor 
broke  his  left  arm.  The  accident  delayed  his  return, 
and  gave  me  more  time  than  I  expected  to  bore  myself 
in.  I  had  been  thrown  into  a  dungeon  where  my 
clothes  became  every  night  wringing  wet  with  damp, 
though  I  kept  a  fire  burning  ail  day.  I  had  besides,  a 
sorry  bed  which  was  half  a  foot  too  short  for  me. 

Three  weeks  elapsed  before  the  governor  returned  to 
Paris,  for  he  had  at  first  been  treated  by  a  village 
surgeon  whose  work  had  to  be  done  over  again. 
Meanwhile,  ail  my  entreaties  to  communicate  with 
him  were  scoffed  at  by  my  gaoler.  I  also  asked  in 
vain  for  a  confesser  in  spite  of  my  feigning  illness, 
and  my  attempts  to  obtain  an  interview  with  the 
governor's  substitute  proved  in  no  way  more  success- 
ful.  At  last,  in  despair,  I  begged  the  man  who  was 
wont  to  bring  me  food,  and  who  was  one  of  the  men 


342  ME  MOI  R  S  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

who  are  called  by  the  name  of  Porte-clef  in  the 
Bastille,  to  ail  events  tell  the  governor  that  I  was  a 
gentleman  of  the  Court.  He  promised  to  do  so,  but 
instead  of  faithfully  carrying  my  message,  sent  word 
to  him  that  I  had  lost  my  head,  and  was  trying  to  pass 
for  a  great  lord  ;  adding,  that  I  had  even  erected  a 
canopy  in  my  room  made  of  my  bed  clothes,  under 
which  I  would  sit  and  show  off  my  madness.  It  was 
true  that  I  had  erected  something  of  the  kind,  but  it 
had  been  only  as  a  protection  against  the  wind  which 
blew  in  exactly  upon  me.  The  governor,  who  was 
quite  accustomed  to  see  most  of  his  prisoners  go  mad, 
thought  that  this  was  my  case,  and  consequently  paid 
no  further  attention. 

Meanwhile,  M.  le  Cardinal  was  writing  to  me  in 
London  about  some  instructions  he  wished  to  give 
me,  and  was  much  puzzled  at  receiving  no  reply. 
He  did  not  dare  to  ask  news  of  me  from  M.  de 
Bordeaux,  for  he  had  sent  me  to  England  without 
giving  him  any  information  as  to  my  coming.  This 
being  so,  he  had  recourse  to  a  banker,  whom  he  was 
wont  to  employ  in  that  country,  and  the  latter,  having 
made  every  enquiry,  sent  word  back  to  his  Eminence 
that  I  had  disappeared  a  month  ago  and  given  rise 
to  much  uneasiness  as  to  my  fate.  The  Cardinal  was 
more  puzzled  at  this  than  ever,  and  ordered  the  banker 
to  make  further  search,  which  he  did  with  no  better 
success  than  before.  At  this  time  Treville  was 
beginning  to  lower  his  tone,  and  chancing  to  be 
discussing  matters  which  concerned  his  post  with  his 
Eminence,  he  was  asked  by  him  if  he  had  heard 
any  news  of  me,  to  which  he  replied  that  he  thought 
I  had  returned    to  my  own  province.     Besmaux,   in 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  343 

answer  to  the  same  question,  declared  that  I  was 
just  the  man  to  hâve  joined  the  Carthusians,  for  I 
had  often  said  they  were  the  happiest  people  in 
the  world,  and  in  conséquence  of  this  statement  the 
Cardinal  had  ail  the  Carthusian  monasteries  in  the 
kingdom  written  to,  but  naturally  obtained  no  news 
of  my  whereabouts.  Under  thèse  circumstances  he 
might  perhaps  hâve  disposed  of  my  post,  had  he  not 
thought  fit  to  Vivait  yet  a  little  longer. 

The  Englishwoman,  mystified  at  my  disappearance, 
had  meanwhile  kept  asking  for  news  of  me  from 
M.  de  Bordeaux,  who  maliciously  pretended  to  hâve 
sent  me  back  to  her  house.  Thinking,  therefore,  that 
I  had  become  weary  of  her  and  reflecting  that  a 
dozen  lovers  could  be  found  for  one  who  was  lost, 
she  easily  consoled  herself  for  what  she  believed  to 
be  my  fickleness.  When  the  ambassador  perceived 
that  his  mistress  bore  my  absence  with  such  indifférence, 
he  began  to  fear  he  had  made  a  mistake  and  that  I  was 
innocent.  He  accordingly  wrote  to  M.  le  Cardinal 
to  ask  him  whether  the  prisoner  he  had  sent  over 
had  proved  guilty  or  not,  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  the 
requisite  measures  to  guard  against  the  plots  of 
the  Prince  de  Condé. 

His  Eminence  had  been  so  busy  that  he  had 
forgotten  ail  about  the  prisoner,  but  this  letter  jogging 
his  memory,  he  gave  orders  for  the  lieutenant-criminel 
to  come  and  interrogate  me.  There  was  then  no 
lieutenant-général  of  police,  as  there  is  to-day.  I  was 
delighted  beyond  measure,  when  this  magistrate 
announced  what  he  had  come  for,  and  he,  in  turn, 
was  astounded  at  perceiving  who  the  prisoner  was. 
He  knew  me  to  be  no  spy  of  M.  le  Prince,  but  yet, 


344  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

carrying  out  the  forms  of  his  office,  and  proceeding 
with  his  questions,  ail  the  answer  he  could  obtain 
from  me  was  that  I  had  been  tricked,  and  would  beg 
him  to  tell  the  Cardinal  of  my  plight.  The  lieutenant- 
criminel  went  straight  from  the  Bastille  to  the  Palais 
Mazarin,  and  saw  M.  le  Cardinal,  who  at  once  asked 
if  the  prisoner  should  be  hung  or  broken  on  the  wheel  ? 
The  officer  replied  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  made 
of  M.  d'Artagnan,  for  he  would  answer  no  questions. 
At  first  his  Eminence  could  not  realise  that  I  was  the 
prisoner  sent  over  from  England,  but  having  at  last 
done  so,  he  immediately  despatched  a  courier  to 
that  country  to  enquire  the  grounds  on  which  the 
ambassador  had  accused  me  of  being  a  spy  of  M.  le 
Prince.  My  name  was  not  as  well  known  as  that  of 
M.  le  Prince,  nor  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne,  nor  many 
others  of  like  merit,  but  still,  as,  when  one  is  a  captain 
in  the  Guards,  one  is  in  some  way  beginning  to 
distinguish  oneself,  M.  de  Bordeaux  had  heard  enough 
about  me  to  know  who  I  was,  and  was,  therefore,  much 
astonished  when  he  heard  whom  he  had  caused  to  be 
arrested.  He  sent  excuses  to  M.  le  Cardinal,  saying 
that  being  ignorant  of  my  présence  in  London,  my 
avidity  for  news,  together  with  the  fact  of  my  having 
personated  a  cook  at  the  house  of  a  lady  whom  he 
frequently  visited,  together  with  other  circumstances 
which  had  come  to  his  knowledge,  had  caused  him 
to  believe  me  to  be  acting  thus  for  love  of  M.  le  Prince, 
and,  therefore,  he  had  deemed  that  both  prudence  and 
his  duty  demanded  my  being  made  a  prisoner. 

M.  le  Cardinal,  who  was  the  most  suspicious  man  in 
the  world,  thought  my  masquerade  such  a  bad  joke  as 
to  suddenly  lose  more  than  half  the  good  opinion  he 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  345 

had  up  to  then  had  of  me,  and  he  began  to  be  somewhat 
suspicions  as  to  whether  I  had  not  really  been  won  over 
by  the  Prince.  His  Eminence  knew  nothing  of  the 
part  which  love  had  played  in  my  disguise,  nor  of  the 
relations  of  M.  de  Bordeaux  with  the  Englishwoman, 
so  telling  the  lieutenant-criminel  to  return  the  next 
day,  he  instructed  him  to  continue  my  interrogation 
and  inform  me,  were  I  still  to  refuse  to  answer,  that  I 
should  be  treated^  like  a  dumb  man.  I  was  also  to  be 
told  that  the  Cardinal  would  be  delighted  for  me  to 
justify  myself,  but  were  I  by  chance  to  be  found  guilty, 
less  mercy  would  be  shown  to  me  than  to  anyone  else, 
since  ingratitude,  as  well  as  treachery,  must  then  be 
laid  to  my  charge.  I  had  been  five  weeks  in  prison, 
but  long  as  thèse  weeks  had  been,  they  seemed  to  me 
shorter  than  the  twenty-four  hours  which  elapsed 
before  the  lieutenant-criminel  returned  to  question  me, 
and  I  was  totally  at  a  loss  to  divine  the  reason  of  his 
being  so  long — I  was  so  disturbed  at  this  that  I  could 
eat  nothing,  and  indeed  I  must  really  hâve  appeared  a 
madman  to  my  gaoler.  The  only  consolation  I  could 
give  myself  was  that  M.  le  Cardinal  had  gone  to 
Vincennes,  and  so  had  not  been  able  to  be  found. 

At  last,  after  this  terrible  twenty-four  hours,  the 
Porte-clef,  came  to  say  that  the  lieutenant-criminel 
was  waiting  for  me  with  his  clerk  in  the  hall  of  the 
governor,  a  pièce  of  news  which  alarmed  me  beyond 
measure,  indeed,  I  felt  a  shock  just  as  if  ail  the  blood 
in  my  veins  had  rushed  to  my  heart.  It  was  the 
mention  of  the  clerk  being  with  the  officer  that  dis- 
turbed me,  for  I  knew  what  this  meant  !  The  lieut- 
enant-criminel received  me  in  a  very  grave  fashion,  and 
I  Meaning  that  torture  would  be  resorted  to. 


346  MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

having  made  me  sit  opposite  to  him,  set  forth  that 
when  a  man  was  once  in  the  hands  of  justice  matters 
moved  none  too  quickly,  and  he  must  justifyhimself  to 
get  out  of  them.  I  had  been  painted  as  black  as  coal, 
and  before  being  thought  white  as  snow,  I  must  give 
certain  proofs  of  my  innocence.  He  had  been  deputed 
by  M.  le  Cardinal  to  interrogate  me  and  make  a  report 
to  him,  and  I  must  therefore  answer  his  questions. 
This  I  declined  to  do,  being  unwilling  to  be  treated  as 
a  malefactor  when  I  had  but  done  my  duty.  Even- 
tually,  after  much  threatening  on  his  part  and  much 
firmness  on  mine,  I  bethought  me  of  asking  for  an 
interview  with  Navailles,  adding  that  I  would  answer 
any  questions  put  to  me  by  him,  and  if  his  Eminence, 
after  that,  were  still  to  believe  me  guilty,  I  would 
willingly  submit  to  be  tried,  though  I  did  not  imagine 
that  matters  would  ever  corne  to  such  a  pass,  unless  it 
was  a  crime  to  hâve  made  love  to  the  mistress  of  the 
ambassador  ! 

The  lieutenant-criminel,  through  whose  hands  ail 
criminals  who  were  to  be  hung  or  broken  on  the  wheel 
were  wont  to  pass,  was  so  experienced  in  distinguishing 
the  innocent  from  the  guilty  as  to  hardly  ever  be 
deceived.  Forming  a  just  estimate  of  me,  he  returned 
to  M.  le  Cardinal,  and  told  him  that  it  was  his  opinion 
that  my  présent  pHght  arose  from  the  jealousy  of 
M.  de  Bordeaux,  who  had  wished  to  rid  himself  of  a 
rival.  The  Cardinal,  who  now  began  to  hâve  serious 
doubts  as  to  my  guilt,  sent  Navailles  to  see  me  at  the 
Bastille,  and,  when  he  appeared,  I  told  him  everything 
as  to  my  adventures  in  England,  protesting  that,  in 
future,  I  would  confine  myself  to  the  strict  duties  of 
my  post,  or  withdraw  altogether  from  the  Court,  for  I 


MEMOIRS  OF  D'ARTAGNAN  347 

felt  terribly  bitter  against  the  Cardinal.  Navailles, 
having  counselled  me  to  be  calm,  returned  to  his 
Eminence  thoroughly  sure  of  my  innocence,  and, 
having  convinced  him  of  it  also,  an  order  was  sent 
to  the  Governor  of  the  Bastille  to  give  me  my  liberty. 
I  do  not  know  which  of  us  was  the  more  confused,  the 
Cardinal  or  myself,  when  I  went  to  his  house  to  thank 
him.  If  I  was  afraid  of  being  looked  upon  as  a  criminal 
for  having  lain  nearly  six  weeks  in  the  Bastille,  he,  for 
his  part,  feared  my  reproaches,  for  he  knew  he  had 
been  in  the  wrong.  I  described  to  him  my  doings  in 
England,  and,  our  interview  having  passed  without 
allusion  to  my  misfortunes,  he  told  Navailles,  when  I 
had  gone,  that  he  was  completely  satisfied  with  my 
conduct.  Some  days  later  I  received  an  order  for  two 
thousand  crowns,  alleged  as  a  reward  for  my  secret 
services  to  the  State.  Had  I  been  over  scrupulous,  I 
might  hâve  refused  this  money,  for  it  was  not  indeed 
the  State  which  I  had  served,  but  the  Cardinal.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  having  gone  to  thank  his  Eminence,  he 
took  the  opportunity  of  saying  that  my  imprisonment 
had  not  arisen  from  any  wish  of  his  own,  having  been 
caused  solely  by  the  denunciation  of  M.  de  Bordeaux. 
His  Eminence  added  that  he  had  to  be  careful  not  to 
show  any  undue  favour  to  his  servants  for  fear  of  a 
public  outcry.  Thèse  excuses,  together  with  the  two 
thousand  crowns  (which  seemed  to  me  most  important 
of  ail),  entirely  calmed  my  resentment,  and,  having 
made  a  suitable  reply,  we  became  once  more  upon  the 
very  best  of  terms. 

The  campaign  of  1655  was  now  about  to  commence, 
and  I  spent  part  of  my  money  in  an  outfit,  and  kept 
the  rest   to   entertain   my  friends  with.     Unlike   the 


348  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

people  of  my  province,  who  are,  as  a  rule,  stingy, 
I  liked  to  be  hospitable,  being  wont  to  déclare  that 
money  was  made  to  be  used,  and  1  would  as  soon  hâve 
none  at  ail  as  keep  it  at  the  bottom  of  a  coffer,  as 
many  people  did.  M.  le  Cardinal  was  glad  to  see  me 
of  such  a  disposition,  though  not  of  it  himself.  Our 
army  set  out  for  Hainaut,  and  suddenly  attacked 
Landrecies.  M.  le  Cardinal  came  to  Guise  with  the 
King,  so  as  to  be  able  to  issue  his  orders.  The  army 
was  that  year  commanded  by  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne 
and  the  Maréchal  de  la  Ferté,  his  Eminence  having 
adopted  the  plan  of  having  two  gênerais  to  an  army, 
so  as  they  might  act  as  a  check  on  one  another  in  the 
way  of  treachery.  Landrecies  was  in  due  course  cap- 
tured,  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  giving  proof  of  the 
very  highest  generalship.  I  acted  as  a  hostage  whilst 
negotiations  were  being  carried  on  for  the  surrender  of 
the  town,  and,  when  thèse  had  been  signed,  Navailles 
advised  me  to  ask  for  the  governorship,  which  I  should 
not  hâve  donc  of  my  own  accord,  for  it  was  a  most 
important  position.  His  Eminence  very  politely  ex- 
pressed  his  regret  at  not  being  able  to  comply  with  my 
wishes,  citing  many  officers  senior  to  myself,  who 
would  raise  strong  objections  to  my  obtaining  such  a 
reward,  and,  at  the  same  time,  advised  me  to  be  more 
moderate  in  my  demands  in  future.  After  the  capitu- 
lation of  Landrecies,  the  King  held  a  review  of  the 
army,  remaining  on  horseback  from  four  in  the  morning 
till  eight  at  night,  taking  even  his  food  on  horseback  ; 
everyone  admired  his  détermination.  His  Majesty 
afterwards  returned  to  Guise.  La  Capelle  was  now 
attacked  by  our  troops,  but,  after  two  or  three  furious 
combats,  we  abandoned  the  siège  of  that  city.      We 


MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  34g 

then,  after  some  further  fighting,  drove  the  enemy  to 
take  shelter  under  the  cannon  of  Condé  ;  and  the 
Château  de  Bossu  having  been  captured  by  our  forces, 
the  King  was  installed  in  it.  As  his  Majesty  was 
followed  by  a  large  suite,  much  forage  was  wanted  for 
their  horses  ;  and  this  had  to  be  obtained  from  under 
the  gâtes  of  Valenciennes,  our  supplies  having  given 
eut.  Foraging  was  dangerous  work,  and  the  parties 
which  engaged  in  it  were  always  commanded  by 
lieutenant-généraux,  some  of  whom  were  none  too 
élever  officers. 

Bussi  Rabutin  did  not  however  include  himself 
amongst  this  latter  class.  Never  had  man  such  a  good 
opinion  of  himself,  and  because  he  was  successful  with 
the  ladies,  he  wanted  to  be  so  in  military  matters,  for 
which  he  had  in  reality  but  little  bent.  Everyone 
wished  him  to  meet  with  some  reverse,  so  as  he  might 
be  humiliated,  for  there  was  nobody  secure  against  his 
tongue.  It  was  not  long  before  this  désire  was 
gratified.  Having  been  ordered  to  go  on  a  foraging 
party,  Bussi  set  out  with  a  certain  number  of  squad- 
rons,  and  being  lured  into  an  ambuscade  by  the  enemy, 
who  executing  a  clever  manœuvre  devised  by  the  Duc 
de  Bournonville,  Governor  of  Valenciennes,  at  first 
pretended  to  retreat,  the  body  of  horsemen  under  his 
command  was  totally  routed  and  forced  to  fly.  Nor 
was  he  one  of  the  last  to  do  so,  and,  in  fact,  it  was  he 
himself  who  brought  news  of  the  defeat,  though  he 
tried  to  make  light  of  it.  This  reverse  was  a  great 
mortification  for  him,  and  for  some  time  he  behaved 
more  wisely,  but  as  when  people  are  used  to  anything, 
they  speedily  return  to  their  vomit,  not  only  did  he 
recommence   being  more   slanderous   than    ever,    but 


350  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

further  employed  his  pen,  which  was  just  as  biting  as 
his  longue.  He  composed  his  "  Histoire  amoureuse 
des  Gaules,"  a  small  book  quite  full  of  slanders,  with 
which  he  mingled  some  truth  to  make  it  appear  more 
true.  Nevertheless,  he  kept  this  book  quiet  for  some 
time,  fearing  lest  it  might  préjudice  his  chances  of 
becoming  a  Maréchal  de  France,  which  he  arrogantly 
aspired  to  be.  Indeed,  I  hâve  heard  one  of  his  friends 
say,  that  so  afraid  was  he  on  this  score,  that  the  book 
would  never  hâve  been  published,  had  he  obtained  the 
honour  he  coveted,  but  perceiving  that  the  peace  of  the 
Pyrénées  which  was  concluded  some  years  later,  had 
prevented  ail  chance  of  his  obtaining  what  he  wished, 
Bussi  was  enchanted  to  produce  it  from  his  study,  so 
as  to  revenge  himself  on  a  minister  with  whom  he  was 
dissatisfied.  Apparently,  he  was  of  opinion  that  he 
deserved  this  honour  as  much  as  others,  amongst 
whom  it  is  true  there  were  men  no  more  worthy  than 
himself,  but  had  it  been  given  to  everybody  who  did 
not  deserve  it,  there  would  hâve  been  more  Maréchaux 
de  France  than  soldiers,  for  officers  at  that  time  were 
far  from  thoroughly  doing  their  duty.  For  one  who 
did  it,  there  were  a  thousand  who  thought  only  of 
pleasure.  Not  that  this  was  the  fault  of  the  King,  for 
during  the  whole  of  the  siège  of  Condé,  he  continued 
to  be  seen  on  horseback  from  morning  till  night,  just 
as  after  the  taking  of  Landrecies. 

Condé,  the  siège  of  which  had  begun  in  the  early 
days  of  August,  held  out  till  the  eighteenth  of  that 
month,  and  we  next  besieged  Saint  Guillain,  which 
made  but  a  feeble  résistance.  After  the  capture  of  this 
town,  the  King  and  his  whole  Court  returned  to  Paris. 
The  Cardinal  then  recommenced  his  negotiations  with 
M.  de  Treville,  who,  as  I  hâve  before  said,  was  show- 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  351 

ing   himself    more    tractable;    but,    nevertheless,    his 
pretensions  were  very  great,  and   his   Eminence  had 
as   yet  corne  to  no  arrangement  with   him.     In   the 
meanwhile,  he  had  given  a  régiment  of  cavalry  to  his 
nephew,  which  was  to  bear  his  name;  hovvever,  the 
young  man  was  so  proud,  that  he  scorned  the  post 
given  to   him,  just   as   he   would   hâve    thought   the 
Crown   itself   too   insignificant   a   thing  !     His   uncle 
was   infuriated   at    his   behaviour,   for    he    was    very 
désirons   of    making    him    into   a    great    man.     The 
Cardinal  would  sometimes  tell  me  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,   of  his  unhappiness   at   perceiving   after   ail   he 
had   done   for   his   family,   that   not   one   member  of 
it  was  able  to   sustain  its   lustre.     He  lamented   his 
nephew  who   had   been   killed  at  the  combat  of  St. 
Antoine,  saying,  that  he  was  quite  a  différent  kind  of 
man  from  his  brother.    Nevertheless,  his  Eminence  had 
yet  another  nephew  ;  the  younger  brother  of  thèse  two 
gave  some  signs  of  being  like  the  eldest,  but  this  boy 
was  too  young  for  the  Cardinal  to  rely  much  upon  his 
future,  in  which  he  was  not  wrong,  for  he  was  killed 
some  time  later.     Being  at  school  at  the  collège  of 
Clermont,  his  friends  tossed   him  in  a  blanket,  and 
tossed  him  so  well,  that  they  threw  him  against  the 
ceiHng.    Hitting  his  head,  he  fell  back  into  the  blanket 
covered  with  blood,  and  being  afterwards  trepanned, 
died  a  day  or  two  later,  to  the  great  grief  of  his  uncle 
who,  nevertheless,    still   continued   to   amass   ail   the 
wealth    he    could    lay    hands    on.      Meanwhile,   his 
Eminence  married  one  of  his  nièces  to  the  eldest  son 
of  the  Duc  de  Modène,  knowing  that  there  were  still 
enough   left   to   make   a   Queen   of  England   out   of, 
which  was  still  an  idea  of  his. 

His   only   trouble  was  as  to  which  to  choose — his 


352  MEMOIRS   OF  D'ARTAGNAN 

Britannic  Majesty  or  Cromwell,  and  Dne  of  the 
reasons  for  his  having  sent  me  to  England,  had 
been  to  see  whether  Charles  II.  had  any  chance 
of  recovering  his  crown.  I  had  reported  my  opinion 
on  my  return.  I  believed  that  the  EngHsh  were 
much  opposed  to  the  King's  restoration.  Cromwell, 
to  strengthen  his  position,  had  made  them  think  that 
Charles  II.  had  become  a  Catholic,  owing  to  the  per- 
suasion of  the  Queen,  his  mother.  This  was  enough 
to  make  them  hâte  him  more  bitterly  than  ever,  since 
this  religion  was  unutterably  hateful  to  them.  Not 
that  they  could  say,  that  the  Catholics  had  ever  donc 
them  any  great  harm,  on  the  contrary,  they  were  the 
sufferers  since  Queen  Elizabeth  had  made  Protestant- 
ism  suprême  in  her  Kingdom,  but  if  they  could  not 
reproach  them  in  that  respect,  the  English  were  yet 
afraid  of  the  yoke  of  the  Popes.  The  more  they 
examined  their  policy,  the  more  they  concluded  that 
their  sole  end  was  the  subjection  of  everyone  under 
the  guise  of  religion. 

The  Cardinal,  on  my  reports,  gave  up  ail  thoughts 
of  the  King  of  England,  and  turned  his  entire  attention 
to  Cromwell,  though  to  me  it  seemed  that  he  had  no 
more  to  hope  for  from  him  than  from  the  other. 
Religion  constituted  a  great  obstacle,  but  in  any  case, 
his  Eminence  instructed  M.  de  Bordeaux  to  make  an 
alliance  with  the  Protector  in  the  name  of  the  King  his 
master.  For  a  long  time  past,  our  ambassador  had 
been  trying  to  make  such  a  treaty,  so  as  to  prevent  an 
alliance  between  England  and  Spain,  which  the 
Spaniards  eagerly  desired.  Cromwell  was  much  more 
inclined  to  make  a  treaty  with  us,  and  as  matters 
appeared  to  be  oroeressine  well  in  this  direction,  the 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  353 

Cardinal  formed  the  idea  of  once  more  sending  me  to 
England,  not  secretly  as  before,  but  to  deal  with  the 
Protector  directly,  and  urge  on  the  alHance.  I  was 
dehghted  at  the  thought  of  revenging  myself  on 
Bordeaux,  and  was  calculating  on  embracing  his  mis- 
tress  under  his  very  nose,  but  his  Eminence  deeming 
that,  after  what  had  happened,  he  would  make  the 
ambassador  his  mortal  enemy  were  he  to  send  me, 
despatched  Marsac  in  my  place.  The  latter  was  a  very 
simple  man,  and  the  dullest  and  least  capable  Gascon 
I  hâve  ever  seen,  and  indeed,  he  acquitted  himself  of 
this  mission  so  ill,  that  on  his  return,  his  Eminence 
abandoned  ail  hopes  of  succeeding  in  his  plans.  He 
might  just  as  well  hâve  sent  a  child  as  a  man  like  this. 
The  Cardinal  speaking  of  him  to  me,  said  he  was  so 
good  a  man,  that  he  had  become  a  complète  fool.  My 
reply  was,  that  Marsac  might  be  said  to  be  no  richer 
in  intellect  than  in  manners.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he 
was  like  a  pig  jobber,  and  without  his  sword,  might 
hâve  been  taken  for  one  just  corne  from  selling  his 
stock  at  a  fair.  For  this  reason,  as  he  knew  he  would 
look  no  better  in  a  rich  dress,  he  spent  no  money  on 
his  clothes,  but  was  always  so  simply  dressed  that  one 
clearly  perceived  that  he  took  no  delight  in  the 
vanities  of  the  world. 

However,  to  leave  this  poor  man,  who  has  for  some 
time  been  rotting  in  the  tomb,  I  must  mention  that 
M.  le  Cardinal,  always  eager  for  gain,  now  took  it  into 
his  head  to  substitute  a  new  copper  coin  for  the 
"  denier  "  which  then  circulated  in  France.  He 
declared  that  there  was  not  sufficient  small  coin  in  the 
country,  but  a  governor  of  a  province,  who  was  a  very 
élever  man,  hearing  of  this,  played  him  a  trick  which 
VOL,  II  23 


354  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

his  Eminence  did  not  forget  for  some  time.  Being 
called  upon  to  pay  the  minister  one  hundred  thousand 
crowns,  he  coUected  ail  the  small  money  in  his 
province,  and  placing  it  in  carts,  sent  it  to  Paris  with 
a  letter  stating  that,  there  being  only  small  coins  in  his 
district,  he  was  obliged  to  send  the  sum  in  this  form, 
though  he  had  wasted  much  time  in  endeavouring  to 
obtain  larger  pièces.  The  Cardinal  was  much  aston- 
ished  at  seeing  a  number  of  carts  entering  his  court- 
yard,  but  clearly  understood  that  which  this  governor 
meant  to  express,  which  was  that  he  was  wrong  to  try 
and  prétend  that  there  was  any  lack  of  small  coins. 

Cromwell,  whilst  negotiating  the  treaty  which  I  hâve 
spoken  of,  had  wished  it  to  be  kept  secret  till  such 
time  as  he  should  hâve  drawn  some  money  from  the 
English  Parliament  on  certain  specious  pretexts. 
However,  as  everything  is  liable  to  be  discovered,  the 
Spaniards  were  informed  of  what  was  going  on  by  the 
wife  of  Major-General  Lambert,  the  great  friend  of 
Cromwell.  She  hid  herself  one  day  in  her  husband's 
room  to  learn  what  Bordeaux  came  there  so  often  for, 
and  she  was  the  more  curious  because  Cromwell  him- 
self  took  part  in  thèse  conférences.  Nevertheless,  she, 
as  well  as  her  husband,  was  a  pensioner  of  France, 
which  should  hâve  prevented  her  from  disclosing  our 
secrets.  However,  being  in  possession  of  such  an 
important  one  as  this,  she  thought  she  would  make 
something  out  of  it  ;  and,  having  entered  into  com- 
munication with  the  Spanish  Ambassador,  the  latter 
deemed  her  information  so  valuable  that  he  readily 
agreed  to  her  stipulations.  He  at  once  went  incognito 
to  see  the  Speaker  of  the  Lower  House,  who  was  a 
staunch  partisan  of  the  King,  his  master,  and  told  him 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  355 

what  was  going  on.  The  Speaker,  in  return,  advised 
the  Spaniard  to  continue  trying  to  make  his  treaty 
without  taking  notice  of  anything  else,  and,  further,  to 
notify  to  the  Parhament  the  conditions  he  was  pro- 
posing,  so  as  to  make  clear  how  advantageous  they 
were  to  England.  The  ambassador  foUowed  this 
advice,  and,  further,  had  his  proposais  printed,  so 
as  to  make  them  known  in  the  whole  City  of  London, 
and  then  ail  over  the  entire  Kingdom.  Hiring  some 
men,  he  told  them  to  go  and  distribute  thèse  pamphlets 
ail  over  the  town.  Probably  it  had  ail  been  arranged 
with  the  Speaker.  Be  this  as  it  may,  one  of  thèse  men 
having  cried  the  contents  of  his  pamphlets  right  under 
the  Windows  of  Cromwell's  room,  the  latter  listened  to 
what  he  was  saying,  and,  no  sooner  had  he  done  so, 
than  he  immediately  ordered  the  arrest  of  the  crier, 
and,  after  extracting  the  name  of  the  person  who  had 
instigated  him  to  do  this,  had  him  conveyed  to  New- 
gate  and  strangled  the  next  evening  without  further 
trial.  His  companions  no  sooner  heard  of  this  than 
they  fled  in  ail  directions,  and  no  longer  dared  sell 
their  wares,  except  in  secret. 

The  Spanish  Ambassador  received  his  own  particular 
correction  the  first  time  he  returned  to  Whitehall,  but 
going,  as  it  were,  double  or  quits,  he  complained  to 
the  Parliament  of  the  way  the  Protector  had  behaved 
in  the  matter,  and  though  it  was  largely  composed  of 
Cromwell's  créatures,  there  was  a  party  in  it  which 
began  to  protest  against  what  was  going  on.  Indeed, 
this  agitation  went  so  far  that  there  was  a  kind  of 
rébellion  in  the  City  of  London,  which  retarded  the 
exécution  of  the  treaty,  which  the  Protector  had  made 
with  his  Majesty,  and  made  the  Cardinal  clearly  see 


356  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

thathis  great  schemes  were  still  a  long  wayoff  réalisation. 
He,  consequently,  determined  not  to  again  refuse  any 
good  match  for  his  nièces  on  account  of  imaginary 
hopes. 

The  campaign  of  Flanders  having  ended  after  the 
taking  of  St.  Guillain,  the  King  returned  to  Paris,  and 
M.  le  Cardinal,  to  keep  his  Majesty  amused  whilst  he 
filled  his  purse,  gave  a  magnificent  bail,  the  marriage 
of  one  of  his  nièces  with  the  Duc  de  Modène  serving  as 
a  pretext.  The  position  of  his  Eminence  was  now 
more  assured  than  ever,  and  the  King,  as  it  were, 
saw  only  with  his  eyes,  which  was  natural  enough, 
considering  that  the  Queen-mother  perpetually  sang 
his  praises.  She  was,  nevertheless,  much  pained  at  the 
war  with  Spain,  though  it  was  now  forty  years  since 
she  had  left  her  country,  and  did  not  fail  to  attempt  to 
make  the  minister  conclude  a  peace,  which  for  his  own 
reasons  he  was  unwilling  to  do,  He  declared  that  it 
would  be  very  unwise  to  draw  back  now  that  matters 
were  proceeding  so  well,  and,  besides,  the  French 
nation  wanted  occupation,  and  the  nobility  required 
something  to  do,  to  that  extent  that  did  they  not  find 
it  outside  the  kingdom  they  would  soon  look  for  it 
within. 

The  winter  having  thus  passed  with  many  enter- 
tainments,  the  Cardinal  held  a  great  council  of  war 
in  the  month  of  March  to  know  what  the  King's 
arms  in  Flanders  were  to  do  in  the  next  campaign. 
The  siège  of  Valenciennes  had  already  been  decided 
on,  and  great  préparations  made  for  it.  The  enemy 
had  taken  measures  to  oppose  us,  and  it  was  a  question 
whether  we  ought  not  to  attack  Dunkerque  instead, 
so  as  to  carry  out  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  with 


ME  M  01 R  s   OF  D'ARTAGNAN  357 

the  Protector.  However,  Cromwell  had  more  to  do 
at  home  than  people  thought,  and  could  not  conse- 
quently  keep  his  word.  The  complaints  of  the  Spanish 
Ambassador  had  aroused  the  EngUsh  people  from  its 
indifférence,  and  it  appeared  so  outraged  at  his  having 
looked  after  his  own  private  interests  in  préférence 
to  those  of  the  pubhc,  as  never  to  forgive  him  for  it. 
In  short,  everyone  in  England  cried  out  for  a  war 
with  France,  instead  of  approving  of  the  treaty.  Ail 
Cromwell  had  done  had  been  to  déclare  that  he 
understood  vvhat  he  was  doing  better  than  the  people 
themselves,  but  they  were  so  much  struck  by  the 
offers  of  Calais  and  Boulogne,  with  which  the  Spanish 
Ambassador  tempted  them,  as  to  appear  deaf  to 
everything  else.  The  Cardinal,  therefore,  could  not 
rely  upon  the  treaty,  and,  in  conséquence  of  this, 
held  the  council  of  war  which  I  hâve  mentioned. 
It  was  there  resolved,  on  the  advice  of  the  Maréchal  de 
la  Ferté  and  other  gênerais,  to  push  on  with  the 
campaign  ;  the  Vicomte  de  Turenne  alone  strongly 
recommending  that  matters  should  be  thoroughly  con- 
sidered  before  an  advance  was  made.  In  due  course, 
Valenciennes  was  besieged  and  the  résistance  we  en- 
countered  there  was  of  a  very  formidable  kind.  After 
some  slight  successes,  which  were  due  to  the  cleverness 
of  the  governor,  who  was  the  Comte  de  Hennin,  the 
Prince  de  Condé,  the  Comte  de  Fuensaldagne  and 
Don  Juan  d'Autriche  advanced  to  the  attack.  Thèse 
three  commanders  were,  indeed,  formidable  opponents. 
Perceiving  that  the  position  held  by  M.  de  Turenne 
was  defended  in  a  manner  which  showed  that  every- 
thing was  in  order,  they  turned  their  attention  to  the 
lines  of  the  Maréchal  de  la  Ferté,  who,  impetuously 


358  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

declining  an  offer  of  assistance  made  by  the  Vicomte 
de  Turenne,  paid  dearly  for  his  foUy,  for  his  position  was 
easily  carried,  only  our  régiment  and  the  régiment  of 
marine  offering  any  serions  résistance.  The  Maréchal 
de  la  Ferté  disdained  to  take  refuge  in  the  camp  of 
M.  de  Turenne,  and  was  made  prisoner,  together  with 
three  lieutenant-généraux,  to  wit,  MM.  les  Comtes  de 
Gadagne  d'Estreés  and  de  Grandpré.  Besides  this,  a 
number  of  distinguished  persons  fell  on  this  occasion 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  I  was  not  so  particular 
as  the  maréchal  had  been,  and  saved  myself  by  the 
dike.  Meanwhile,  M.  de  Turenne,  forgetting  ail 
rancorous  thoughts  as  to  the  way  in  which  he  had 
been  treated,  gave  orders  to  the  régiments  of  Rambures 
ind  de  la  Feuil  to  advance  to  the  attack,  but  the 
bogginess  of  the  ground  caused  by  the  breaking  of  the 
dike  forced  them  to  retreat — the  soldiers  sinking  in 
the  mud  at  every  step,  and  it  was  ail  the  gênerai  could 
do  to  keep  order  amongst  his  troops.  He  now  sought 
to  reassure  the  army,  and  displayed  the  greatest  cool- 
ness  and  composure. 

It  is  extraordinary  why  we  were  not  hard  pressed 
after  our  defeat  by  the  enemy,  instead  of  being  merely 
harassed  by  two  or  three  squadrons,  which  were  easily 
kept  at  bay  by  the  two  thousand  horse,  with  which  the 
Vicomte  de  Turenne  covered  our  retreat.  Indeed, 
to  such  an  extent  were  our  soldiers  overcome  by  terror 
that  the  rustle  of  the  smallest  leaf  aroused  them. 
A  hare,  for  instance,  chancing  to  be  started  under  the 
hoofs  of  the  cavalry,  the  advance  guard  no  sooner 
heard  some  musket  shots,  which  were  fired  at  this 
poor  animal,  than  they  became  quite  as  alarmed  as 
if  the  enemy  were  already  upon  them. 


MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN  359 

Having  learnt  that  an  attack  was  contemplated  upon 
Condé,  he  sent  eight  hundred  horsemen  to  that  town 
by  a  circuitous  route,  each  with  a  sack  of  corn  on  his 
horse,  for  it  was  but  ill-supplied  with  provisions,  and 
was  full  of  fugitives  from  our  army  who  were  starving. 
After  depositing  the  corn,  thèse  horsemen  returned  ; 
but  it  would  hâve  been  better  had  they  stayed  in  the 
place  of  the  stragglers  who  filled  the  city.  Condé, 
nevertheless,  made  a  vigorous  résistance  under  the 
lieutenant-général,  who  was  its  commander — Passage 
by  name,  a  good  soldier,  whose  only  fault  was  a 
hankering  to  be  thought  of  a  great  family.  Finally, 
however,  it  surrendered  on  honourable  terms,  and  so 
M.  de  Turenne  found  himself  in  a  more  difficult  pass 
than  ever.  Nevertheless,  after  a  pretended  retreat 
towards  France,  he  made  direct  for  la  Capelle,  which 
he  besieged.  This  city  was  held  by  the  Comte  de 
Chamilly  for  the  Prince  de  Condé,  who  hearing  of 
its  siège,  at  once  sent  the  son  of  Chamilly  to  help  his 
father,  and  to  reassure  him.  He,  therefore,  in  spite  of 
having  but  a  small  garrison,  declined  ail  proposais  for 
surrender,  and  made  a  much  better  résistance  than 
might  hâve  been  anticipated.  Meanwhile,  the  Spaniards 
on  the  urgent  appeal  of  M.  le  Prince,  abandoned 
besieging  Saint  Guillain  and  went  to  the  relief  of  la 
Capelle,  but  they  were  much  chagrined  on  the  way 
to  learn  that  the  city  in  question  had  capitulated. 

The  whole  of  France  which  had  deemed  itself  lost, 
or  at  least  in  great  danger  after  the  defeat  of  Valen- 
ciennes,  admired  the  conduct  of  the  Vicomte  de 
Turenne,  who  had  set  everything  right  ;  indeed,  he 
had  done  a  good  deal,  for,  if  we  had  lost  Condé,  we 
had  recaptured  la  Capelle.     For  the  latter  town  had 


36o  MEMOIRS   OF   D'ARTAGNAN 

been  captured  during  our  civil  wars,  and  since  then  we 
had  been  unable  to  retake  it,  though  from  no  laclv  of 
wishing  to  do  so.  The  King  came  to  the  camp  to 
show  his  army  his  satisfaction  at  what  it  had  done, 
but  while  he  paid  us  ail  thèse  compliments,  he  reserved 
some  spécial  ones  for  the  Vicomte,  who  assuredly 
deserved  them.  His  Majesty  remained  in  the  camp 
for  some  days,  until  a  convoy  destined  for  Landrecies 
had  been  prepared.  He  selected  that  route  to  return 
to  France,  and  our  régiment  went  ahead  to  reach 
Compiègne,  where  I  was  to  be  quartered.  Some  time 
afterwards,  I  returned  to  the  Court  where  such 
magnificence  prevailed,  that  it  was  very  easy  to  see 
that  it  was  no  longer  suffering  from  the  misery  which 
had  been  its  lot  during  the  civil  war. 


END   OF   PART   II 


DC 


Courtilz,   Gatien  de,    sieiir 
130  de  Sandras 

A72C8  Memoirs  of  Monsieur 

1B99  d'Artagnan 

pt.2 


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